earticle

한국어

Harmony is a characteristic of Western music, and in comparison, Korean traditional music, that is, ‘國樂:(Kugak)’, it is explained with a variety of melodies, rhythms, or colorful beats/rhythm. However, when speaking about music or the unique characteristics of a specific genre, it cannot be defined under the conditions such as the presence or absence of harmony. The characteristics of ‘洋樂(Western Music)’ that Korean traditional musicians usually refer to Western music and most of the laws that define it are bound to limit and avoid the diversity of numerous ‘Western’ music. In the definition of the other ‘洋樂’ and the concept of harmony set by Korean traditional music people, only ‘The Common Practice Period’ Harmony can be recalled. Contradictively, Western materials are sometimes used to modernize Korean classical music and its spirit. On the surface, the idea of 中體西用 has this logic, but at this time, it can lead to a contradiction that excludes the mental elements that support the material civilization of the West. The problem is that the Korean traditional music industry introduces so-called classical music as if it were the whole of Western music, and that the curriculum permits only the pre-19th-century harmony grammar of Europe, which is more of a state-set coercion than the choices and judgments of individual musicians and the public. Therefore, jazz, rock, and pop (so-called popular music in general) patterns are very scattered in our daily lives, but they are not well mentioned, at least in teaching tables and University. I argue that the poorness of Korean traditional music, the restrictions on harmony, and the institutional ideology that enforces the situation strongly limit the possibility of creating Korean traditional music. And this view is constantly being reproduced by domestic academic traditions and institutions, entrance examination guidelines for selecting college students, and academia.