3. Background of the Setting up of Gugak FM
What, then, were the main reasons that people related to Korean traditional musicwanted to have Gugak FM, a radio broadcasting station exclusively for Korean traditionalmusic? The most immediate reason is apparently that most programs of Korean traditionalmusic (radio and TV) were broadcast at inconvenient times for most viewers, compared tothe programs for popular and Western classical music: very early in the morning and late at night. Commercial concerns severely curtailed presentation of the music generallyunderstood to be most Korean. This is demonstrated in an interview with Song Hye-jin,director of the Gugak FM programming team, and formerly a researcher with the NCKTPAbefore. She pointed out that when she worked for a children's song festival and asked a TVstation to broadcast it, she got only a broadcast time that was inconvenient for mostviewers.Another element in the background that led the traditional music advocates to beginto think of having a broadcasting station exclusively devoted to this music is a need,consonant with nationalistic concerns over cultural heritage, they saw. According to asenior researcher at the Minjokmunje-yeonguso (Institute of Nationalism), Pak Han-yong,
Nationalism has been a natural belief in Korea where one ethnic groupconstitutes the nation and people use a single language. All the questionsof the intervention in the Korean Peninsula by the nations concerned andof the division of South and North Korea exalt Korean nationalismincessantly. (Pak 1999).
In the economic growth and political chaos, the military regime during 1960-70s tookadvantage of Korean traditional culture to stir up the feeling of national identity amongpeople for the maintenance of the regime, while anti-government students protestingagainst the authoritarian regime used some of the easily accessible traditional performingarts often "with anti-establishment content." (Lee 1997: 12-13) Minjung (People)'snationalism, which began in 1970, asserted a nationalism which was based on reason andemphasized the characteristic development of Korean culture. Under the variousnationalisms in Korea, some people who used to be familiar more with Western culturethan with their own traditional culture began to realize the value of their own music.
The other background factor that led to this setting up of Gugak FM is a need for anestablishment to fulfill this interest or desire for Korean traditional culture among agrowing portion of the general population. As the Korean economy got better and societygot varied, Korean people came to search for an alternative to present life style which wasoften Western. Some people found beauty in Korean traditional music, the same as they didin Korean meditation rooted in Korean traditional culture, such as danjeon (located inabdomen) breathing to relieve their stress, and the modern version of Korean traditionalclothing, called hanbok, which is beautiful and could be more comfortable than Westernstyle business suit. Seopyeonje, a film depicting a family of pansori (epic narrative song)musicians that made a new box office record in 1993, was one historical event in turningpeople's attention to Korean traditional culture. As it became very popular, it spread arenewed appreciation of pansori widely among the general public. It extended to the othergenres of Korean folk performing arts. The effect of Korean traditional music wasdiscussed in academia, such as the simple traditional lullaby which gets a baby to sleepvery fast and classical music at a leisurely tempo derived from an emphasis on breathingthat calms one's mind. More than in previous years, people recently have been gathering tolearn Korean traditional music and dance. Playing or knowing Korean traditional music hasbegun to be regarded as something to be proud of, at least more so than in the recent past.Also, as there have been a growing number of international events in Korea and morepeople get to have global perspective, they become aware that Korean traditional music and dance is very unique and their artistic value is high but less known in the world than thoseof neighboring countries.2The last background factor in setting up Gugak FM is the fact that the governmentsupported Gugak FM in its preparation. The government supports gugak as shown in thestatement in the homepage of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic ofKorea that "We will seek to promote and preserve our traditional culture, which has beenhanded down for centuries, in a way that helps to establish an identity for Korean culture."In April, 1998, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism selected the establishment of GugakFM to be one of the Projects of the New Cultural Policy of the Government of the Peopleduring 1998-2002. 24 hundred million won of Government money was invested for buyingthe technical equipment for broadcasting.It was in this context, of growing legitimacy for Korean traditional music amongthe population but a situation still unfavorable to Korean traditional music in the world ofradio and TV broadcasting, that people began to dream about having a broadcasting stationexclusively devoted to this music. So, the Former director of NCKTPA, Hahn Myung-hee,who was once a producer in radio as mentioned above and is currently a professor ofKorean music at the University of Seoul, made a plan and began the actual preparation ofthe setting up of Gugak FM in 1997, right on the grounds of the NCKTPA, which had thebasic equipment, performance halls, and manpower necessary for radio station.
4. The Practice of Gugak FMThe Gugak FM is run with the support of the government and several private funds,such as the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation. The director general of the NationalCenter for Korean Traditional Performing Arts holds the post of the chief director of theGugak FM.It is broadcast around the regions of Gyeonggi, the province centered around Seoul,and those of Jeollabukdo province centered around Namwon, in the south, where is one ofa few birth places of pansori of a strong musical tradition but a bit far from the capital andonly a few cultural events are held other than those by the National Center for Korean FolkPerforming Arts and Namwon Municipal Center for Korean Traditional Music. It isbroadcast for 22 hours per day, including 3 hours of rerunning, from 5 AM to 3 AM on thenext day. It is a compact broadcasting station using the digital system, "audio file," and has14 staff members including technician and 'anaduo' the combination word for someone whois announcer, producer and operator all in one.The music programs of Gugak FM are more diverse than other radio and TV shows,targeting a wide range of audiences, from young to old, with various occupations. Forexample, one can learn singing and playing and participate in a competition on Saturdays.One can also listen to very young children talking about their learning of music.Gugak FM broadcasts mainly Korean traditional music, but it also broadcast worldmusic, especially in a program called ¡°Hanbameui-eumaknuri¡± (World of Music at Night)from midnight to one o'clock AM. World music is not much covered in other broadcasting stations but here it is related with Korean traditional music in the sense that Koreantraditional music can be a source of world music and is part of the world music panorama.Also, fusion music is often presented in a program for young people such as Yoon Joong-kang¡¯s 2030.Other features of this radio broadcasting include live concerts held at the concerthall of the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts almost every day; Andmany different great musicians affiliated with the Center are rather easily invited becausethey already work in the same location. Also, one can listen to an entire piece of music thatlasts more than one hour on Gugak FM. This is very unusual on other radio stations, wherethe broadcasting time and programs are too limited. You can also listen to pansori narrativeeveryday and can hear its complete version, which lasts about 6 hours, over the course oftwo or three days. Moreover, one is presented with music not just as a separate form of art,but as an integral part of the overall fabric of Korean traditional culture. This isaccomplished by several means, primarily through the broadcast of interviews and guestspecialists in folklore, travel, or literature.Alas, the success of Gugak FM has not come without a price. With this birth ofGugak FM, other programs of Korean traditional music have, unfortunately, beencancelled: 3 existing programs on terrestrial (regular) TV, 1 on cable TV, and another 3programs on other radio stations. Broadcast officials say that now that there is a radiobroadcasting station exclusively for Korean music, there is no more obligation for them tobroadcast Korean traditional music shows, especially since they are still not profitable. Theoverall effect could be interpreted as less gugak available on radio and TV. Gugak FM tries to compensate for this cancellation of Korean traditional musicprograms on TV and other radio stations. For promotion, they made CDs of the music theyplayed on the radio shows and freely distributed them to people going home at the Seoulinterchange on Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving day. They had an open concert indowntown Seoul and put up an advertisement on urban busses beforehand. Also, they madeCDs of traditional music played by young performers in their 20s who can't afford to makethem, which will serve as documentary material of the history of Korean traditional music,since in the present situation only mature players are regarded as deserving to representtraditional music on recordings, due to their artistic maturity. One can also listen to GugakFM on the internet at gugakfm.co.kr. They want to acquire the world's internet users as anaudience, perhaps even outside of Korea such as Koreans living in Japan, the U.S.A., andelsewhere, and non-Korean audiences, too, using an existing business satellite so that theybroaden the horizon of world music by providing the world audience with a variety ofmusic.Still, in contrast to Western music, Korean traditional music continues to beinsufficiently represented in school curricula, despite a recent increase of Koreantraditional music coverage in elementary school textbooks up to 40%, with Western music60%, and also in-service education and training programs of elementary and middle schoolteachers run by educational institutions, including the NCKTPA. Gugak FM made CDs ofthe accompaniment of folk songs so that the teachers could use them in the classroomswhen they teach singing folk songs. This, it is hoped, will compensate for modestrepresentation of Korean traditional music in school classes for both children and adults. |
