Since 1900, Western music was first introduced and included in the school music curriculum; while Western-influenced Korean composers began to accept the practices of Western classical and Romantic European music, and composed songs using Korean text (poems), many composition are of the Western melodic type.

Some songs have a combination of the Western and the traditional Korean. Several songs, which have elements of the genuine Korean musical characters are selected. The topics are longing (love), departing, home, war and nature such as mountain, river, sea, birds and flowers.

Korean folk songs reflect the idiom of the local region in which they are sung, so there are many versions of the songs as popular as “Arirang.” Many folk songs are characterized by a improvised solo tune sung by a leader, which is answered by a chorus singing as a refrain of unvarying nonsense syllables. The drum is the favored instrument of accompaniment for the voice. For the benefit of western ears and general performance, improvised piano accompaniment will be a more exciting approach in the future.

A great deal of this music is built on scales of only three tones; and two tones are frequently connected by vibrato or glissando. The number of principal pitches never exceeds five. Songs begin on the first beat and end on rhythmically weak beat. The rhythm patterns are based on the compound triple meter; tempi of fast, slow, moderate, etc., are all prevalent in Korean folk music. To extend the enjoyment of Korean songs, the language sounds must be studied in an easier way for non-native speakers. (Written by Kee Man Chang and Eun Ju Lee; “Korean Diction Study for Non-Native Singers”; available by request).

Click HERE for Kee Man's Diction Study........