Traditional Korean Instruments in Modern K-pop Music

Throughout the history of K-pop, there has been an existing effort for artists and producers to infuse traditionally Korean elements into their music, whether it is through integrating Korean musical instruments in their songs, incorporating traditional Korean dance moves in their performance routines, or including old Korean phrases in their lyrics. Nevertheless, as Lee discussed, it was only towards the late 2010s that these local elements began prominently emerging into the K-pop scene.^[1] A significant impetus for this trend is the evolving confidence and desire of K-pop artists to showcase their cultural identity to the global market. Purely from a musical standpoint (i.e., neglecting the visual elements of K-pop for now), one can argue that the inclusion of Korean instruments in a song is the most effective strategy for K-pop artists to showcase traditional elements to listeners. With this in mind, we continue to discuss this stylistic trend of Korean musicians incorporating traditional instruments (particularly strings) in their music.

Depending on the classification system, musical instruments can be divided into different groups. The Hornbostel-Sachs system classifies Western instruments into four families: idiophones (percussions), membranophones (drums), chordophones (strings), and aerophones (wind). We will adopt this categorisation and extend it to Korean instruments for ease of argument.^[2] Although not comprehensive, the Google Arts & Culture column curated by the National Gugak Centre ^[3] offers an introduction to a wide variety of Korean instruments, their history and their unique sounds. Most string instruments feature a wooden body and silk or nylon strings, while wind instruments are typically crafted from wood and bamboo, with the exception of taepyeongso, which has a metal bell and sounds the closest to a brass instrument. As for percussion instruments and drums, they are typically constructed from materials such as animal skin, wood, stone, bamboo, and metal.

Websites like Soompi ^[4], Tone Deaf ^[5], and Koreaboo ^[6] provide lists of K-pop songs that integrate traditional elements and are popular among fans. There are many examples of songs that blend traditional wind or percussion instruments with contemporary K-pop. For instance, Taepyeongso is one of the most prominently featured instruments. Perhaps due to its similarity to Western brass instruments commonly used in soul, R&B, and hip-hop music, it can replace another brass, like a trumpet, or work well in combination with other Western instruments.^[7] K-pop songs which incorporate taepyeongso include “FOLLOW” by MONSTA X, “Hangover” by Psy, and “Daechwita” by Agst D.

Flute samples have long been favoured by hip-hop artists in the US,^[8] so it is not difficult to imagine piri, a bamboo reed instrument, blending with the driving beats of K-pop music. Piri’s unique sound is especially prominent in Dreamcatcher’s “Piri”, where it is integrated into the beat throughout the song, but it can also be heard towards the very end of ToppDogg’s “Arario”. While percussion instruments are rarer to find in K-pop music, one possible explanation is that they sound less distinctively Korean or even Asian compared to the other instrument families. However, B.A.P’s “No Mercy” showcases a Korean percussion feast during the interlude from 2’30 to 3’10, featuring samul nori, a traditional musical performance played with two drums (janggu and buk) and two gongs (kkwaenggwari and jing).

Nevertheless, it could be argued that instruments from the string family, particularly gayageum and geomungo, are the most frequently featured in the K-pop scene. Both being a plucked zither, gayageum most traditionally has 12 strings (although there are versions with 18 or 25, modified to collaborate with Western instruments), and geomungo has six strings, sixteen fixed frets, and three movable bridges, which means geomungo requires the left hand to press the strings on the frets to change the pitch of the notes. Moreover, geomungo is played with a stick-like pick called suldae, which gives the instrument an additional percussive element by striking the strings.^[9]

The 2016 release of “Eung Freestyle” gained immense popularity on YouTube. Other than the incredibly catchy flow, another appeal to the song was the pronounced string-plucking beat faintly reminiscent of a gayageum. A similar sounding beat can also be heard in “Hanryang” by Min Kyung Hoon and Kim Hee Chul. While music producers have made an effort to include these sounds into their music, with careful listening, one can boldly guess that they were not authentic Korean instruments but digitally manipulated to sound that way, creating a vaguely more Korean feel.

There are numerous examples of K-pop songs that integrate traditional string instruments in a respectful and authentic way. In “I’m a B” by Hwa Sa, for instance, the song features a captivating geomungo solo (from 2’38 to 3’11), showcasing the instrument’s warm, resonant tone, dynamic range, adaptive tempo, and impressive intensity. In contrast, Blackpink’s “Pink Venom” took a different approach. Jisoo received proper geomungo lessons, and her performance was highlighted at the start of the music video. Given Blackpink’s massive global fanbase, Jisoo’s introduction of the instrument would definitely spark interest and encourage foreign fans to learn more about traditional Korean instruments.

Meanwhile, gayageum could be seen in songs such as VIXX’s “Shangri-La”, ONEUS’s “LIT’, and ToppDogg’s “Arario”, though with different approaches. In “Arario”, the instrument is only briefly heard at the start, but the MV showcases it being played. “LIT” and “Shangri-La”, on the other hand, feature gayageum throughout their songs, but there is no evidence of the instrument in their MVs. It is also worth noting that INFINITE’s “The Chaser” incorporates another form of a string instrument, haegeum,  which requires the use of a bow. ^[9]

The reason for the popularity of string instruments amongst K-pop artists has to do with the distinctively Korean sound it brings to the ears. To understand this, it is crucial to recognise their historical significance. According to Lee, there are three major genres of traditional Korean court music: aak (court ritual music of Chinese origin), hyangak (court banquet music of Korean origin), and tangak (Chinese court banquet music in Korean). Of these, Lee considers hyangak to be the most important as it originated in Korea, represents a strong native Korean musical idiom, and was performed the most frequently. Both gayageum and geomungo were exclusively played in hyangak, which highlights their cultural importance and the longstanding presence they have throughout Korea’s history.^[10] This is why the sound of these string instruments is so potently associated with Korean music and, thus, why they are more frequently referenced in K-pop.

In our exploration of various traditional Korean instruments in K-pop music, we have focused on the significance of major string instruments like gayageum and geomungo. Additionally, we have examined the different approaches a K-pop artist might take to feature these instruments in their music and music videos. While traditional string instruments are regularly adopted by K-pop artists, we have yet to see a truly successful example where traditional strings are seamlessly integrated into the music, rather than just being featured briefly for a certain part of the song or camouflaged in the background beats. Agst D’s “Daechwita” is one such successful case, where traditional instruments such as nabal (brass horn), nagak (seashell horn), taepyeongso (shawm), jing (gong) are perfectly blended with modern hip-hop elements. It is hopeful for more artists to achieve this level of cultural infusion by incorporating multiple instruments to complement the strings in a way that sustains throughout the song alongside existing K-pop elements.

Notes:

1. Jung-Min Mina Lee, Finding the K in K-pop Musically: A Stylistic History (Cambridge Companion to K-pop, 2023), 21.
2. Cheol-Ho Jeong, et al., Characteristics of Korean Traditional Musical Instruments (2003), 554.
3. “Korea Traditional Musical Instruments” Google Arts & Culture, assessed April 9, 2023, https://artsandculture.google.com/story/korea-traditional-musical-instruments-national-gugak-center-gugakwon/QQXBWFVCGDVvKQ?hl=en
4. “12 K-Pop Songs That Incorporate Elements of Traditional Korean Culture”, Soompi, assessed April 9, 2023, https://www.soompi.com/article/1367060wpp/12-k-pop-songs-that-incorporate-elements-of-traditional-korean-culture
5. “7 K-pop songs that use traditional Korean elements”, Tone Deaf, assessed April 9, 2023, https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/7-k-pop-songs-traditional/
6. “5 K-Pop Songs That Used Elements Of Traditional Korean Music Seamlessly”, Koreaboo, assessed April 9, 2023, https://www.koreaboo.com/lists/5-kpop-songs-used-elements-traditional-korean-music/
7. Aaron Francis, Drinking straws and shaman melodies: a historical and analytical study of the taepyeongso (University of British Columbia, 2008), 31
8. “9 greatest times the FLUTE was used in rap music”, Classic FM, assessed April 10, 2023, https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/instruments/flute/greatest-rap-songs-featuring-flute/
9. Hee-sun Kim, et al., Traditional Korean Instruments: A Practical Guide for Composers (National Gugak Center, 2018) 24-25, 84, 238-239.
10. Byong Won Lee, Korean court music and dance (The World of Music 23, No. 1, 1981), 35-51.