What is Samul nori?
History
Samulnori is a group of four dynamic musicians dedicated to performing and
preserving traditional Korean music and dance. The Korean words sa
and mul mean four objects and nori
means to play. In the case of Samulnori, it refers to the four musicians
playing and dancing with their four percussion instruments. Founded in 1978, SamulNori (the group)
sparked a renaissance in Korea's music scene and has garnered worldwide acclaim.
SamulNori, founded by Kim Duk Soo, the group's leader and master
of the janggu (hour glass drum), has become the leading institution of traditional Korean
performance that maintains up to thirty students selected and trained by Mr. Kim. The group performs in
many configurations but usually tours as a quartet with Mr. Kim at the helm.The original performers
of SamulNori were Kim Young Bae (deceased in 1985) who played kwaengari, Choi Tae Hyun on
jing, Kim Duck-soo on janggu, and Lee Jong Dae (now teaching at a university) on the
buk. But soon after, Choi Jong Sil took over on kwaengari, and Lee Kwang Soo on buk.
In 1993, SamulNori became SamulNori Hanullim, Inc. (Hanullim means
big bang). This growth from a four-man performance ensemble into a company of thirty artists and students
meant that SamulNori's dedication to traditional Korean arts, music, and dance over the last two decades
has now become a viable educational and research enterprise.
Over the years, SamulNori's U.S. tours have brought them to New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago,
and Hawaii. In 1985 the Asia Society was awarded an Obie for Outstanding Achievement in the Off-Broadway
Theater for introducing SamulNori to New Yorks stages. SamulNori has performed at the Kennedy Center in
Washington, D.C., and at the Smithonian Institution as part of an effort to establish scholarly exchanges
between the Smithonian and Korea.
They also appeared at the Percussive Arts Society Convention in Dallas and served a residency for the
Ethnomusicology Department at the University of California at Berkeley. Internationally, SamulNori has
toured Germany, Austria, Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, China, Australia, and Greece where
they accompanied the Korean Olympic representatives for the lighting of the Olympic torch in 1988. They
also visited Italy where they were filmed for a Puma sneaker commercial.
Samulnori has collaborated with many highly acclaimed musicians from around
the world in a variety of styles of music ranging from jazz to pop. They have also performed concerts with
orchestras playing music written expressly for them. They have taken part in many festivals including 'Live
Under the Sky' in Japan and Hong Kong, the Kool Jazz Festival, Peter Gabriel's WOMAD Festival, and the Han
River (Korea) International Jazz Festival.
In addition to their busy touring schedule, SamulNori is dedicated to furthering the tradition of their
unique performance techniques that they teach at the SamulNori Academy of Music in Seoul. They have been
the subject of several books (including their own intensive instructional book) and videos for many labels,
including SONY. All 15 of their musical recordings are also available.
Much of Korean culture came to be Westernized in recent times, and these processes threatened the survival of
folk arts. In February 1978, a number of young performers (formally members of Namsadang, the wandering
artist-entertainers) performed together, giving birth to Samulnori a traditional
percussive musical group. The music they played then was 'Utdari Poongmul' (the kut rhythm of Kyonggi
and Ch'ungch'ong Provinces), 'Youngnam Folk Music,' and 'Honam Udo Kut.' However, they improvised the music
to suit the new trends and demands of the times. This ongoing musical experiment had a great impact on the
culture and arts scene of Korea in that it revived interest of the people in the traditional arts.