Quartet re-invents Geomungo
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Geomungo Factory uses a variety of improved Korean zithers — from left are cello geomungo, chulhyungeum, portable electric geomungo, steel-string gayageum and 25-stringed gayageum. / Courtesy of Geomungo Factory
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The beauty of Korean traditional musical instruments is often overlooked. A group of young musicians are bringing new relevance to "geomungo,” a Korean traditional six-string zither, for today’s audiences.
Founded in 2006, world music ensemble Geomungo Factory is composed of three geomungo players — Yoo Mi-young, Lee Jung-seok and Jung Ein-ryoung — and a “gayageum” player, Kim Sun-a.
“We created Geomungo Factory to share the story of the geomungo in original music,” said Lee, leader of the band. “Geomungo had been out of the limelight in ‘gukak,’ or Korean traditional music, and we geomungo players wanted to spark interest in this instrument.”
The history of geomungo dates back to the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 B.C.-A.D. 668). A geomungo has six twisted-silk strings, 16 frets and three movable bridges. Usually made of royal foxglove wood and chestnut, a traditional geomungo can reach up to 160 centimeters in length and is played by plucking or striking the strings with a short bamboo stick called a “suldae.”
Geomungo Factory’s instruments are a bit different from the traditional ones.
“First, we cut off the bottom part of a geomungo — an original geomungo is about 1.6 meters high and played while seated on the floor, but our ‘damhyungeum,’ or portable geomungo, is about 1 meter high so we can strap the instrument on the shoulder and move around,” Jung explained. “We replaced the strings from silk to nylon to complement a smaller soundbox compared to the original size.”
Geomungo Factory’s Jung Ein-ryoung plays cello geomungo with a bow.
Then the band racked their brains to maximize the deep, rich and varied tones that can be drawn out of the instrument. “We created an electric geomungo to amplify the sound. Our cello geomungo is played vertically with a bow and specialized in low notes, while a xylophone geomungo has nine strings and can play higher notes,” Yoo said.
They also hired a chulhyungeum, a hybrid of a guitar and geomungo, to create a richer sound for the ensemble.
Of course, traditional masters didn’t like the young musicians who chopped the instruments at first. “So we had to prove that we were serious about our music is based on tradition. We researched and revived ‘sanjo,’ or free-style solo, of geomungo masters and released an album of it. It was like a rite of passage for us,” Lee said. “We are based on traditional music, but try to balance it with contemporary original music.”
Geomungo Factory gained recognition in Korea through a showcase at Performing Arts Market in Seoul in 2010 when many world music experts across the globe came and listened to their music.
The ensemble realigned its musical composition and members in the same year and welcomed new member Kim, a gayageum player. Gayageum is another Korean zither, which has 12 strings and sounds more “feminine” compared to low, “masculine” geomungo.
“When I joined Geomungo Factory, some people told me I was foolish to join a geomungo band with gayageum. But I really liked the music of Geomungo Factory and the instrument didn’t matter because making good music comes first,” Kim said. “And if we create great music using both geomungo and gayageum, I can promote gayageum as well.”
Their breakthrough came in 2012 when the band was invited to the World Music Expo (WOMEX) in 2012. “It opened us up to more opportunities to introduce our music internationally,” Lee said.
However, the band had to go through trial and error preparing for the 40-minute showcase at Thessaloniki, Greece. “We have 24 instruments and used most of them in performances in Korea. However, we had to narrow down for the tour since we cannot take all of them with us on a plane. We now have 10 instruments specialized for overseas tour and made customized hard cases for them,” Yoo said. “We added a narrative arc to our repertoire, often starting with traditional tunes then moving on to our original music. We also learned to switch from one instrument to another quickly and smoothly.”
After the successful showcase at WOMEX, the band started receiving more invitations from world music festivals extensively. Geomungo Factory held a solo concert at K-Music Festival in London and participated in Sommarscen Malm Festival in Sweden, Roskilde Festival in Denmark and Amsterdam Roots Festival in Netherlands in 2013. Their performance at the K-Music Festival garnered five-star reviews from British media including the London Evening Standard.
“At first we felt strange playing the geomungo in front of audience who do not have a clue what this instrument is. However, at the end of the performance, we realized that music can move anyone,” Jung said.
Now Geomungo Factory is even busier overseas. The world music quartet is just ahead of a slew of performances in different continents. They will visit OFFest 2014 in Macedonia (May 30-June 6) and Clandestino Festival in Sweden (June 6-7). After the European visit, the band will embark on a tour to Canada, taking part at Winnipeg Folk Festival, Vancouver Folk Festival, Calgery Folk Festival and Sunfest.
The band’s international project manager Lee Su-jin said it is ironical that Korean music is being re-imported to Korea after it has been successfully received abroad. “In Korea, people mostly engage geomungo with traditional music and there is virtually no market for world music. So we have to find a place between traditional and original music,” Lee said.
Geomungo Factory will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year and the band continues to try to balance their music between tradition and modernity. “Experimental songs are more appreciated overseas, while Koreans prefer popular songs. In both cases, music based on tradition was well-received. I think it hints where we should head,” Jung said.