Fourth graders at Daniels Run Elementary School in Fairfax, Va. were able to experience Korean traditional music and dance first-hand during a visit by local performers organized by the Korean Cultural Center on June 8, 2012, after which the students joined in by trying out the instruments themselves.

The program, including six different performances, was intended to help students prepare for international cultural awareness projects in the upcoming school year. From start to finish, students excitedly participated in the performances.

In the first performance, Daniels Run music teacher Lucinda Sexton led six of the school’s students in a performance of traditional Korean percussion instruments, including the janggo, and hourglass-shaped drum.

Students also had the chance to enjoy the unique and relaxing music of the 25-stringed gayageum, performed by Ji Sun Han. Although this Korean zither traditionally has twelve strings, this version presents a more modern style. Han performanced Arirang and Doragi, a song about a Korean flower.

The third performance featured the traditional dance Taepyeongmu performed by Soo Kyung Jung. As she glided about the floor using small, subtle movements, Soo danced in her layered hanbok to the beat of traditional music.

Eun Su Kim then performed two Pansori songs, a traditional form of lyric storytelling: Sarangga, a love story akin to Romeo and Juliet, and Jindo Arirang, a slightly slower, unique version of this famous Korean song. Although the students could not fully understand the Korean words, the songs are intended to impart a sense of the emotional content through the voice sounds and movements.

The fifth performance was perhaps the most energetic, as Sebastian Wang gradually build up the intensity on the janggo drum. Students responded to the changing speeds and excitedly clapped along to the rhythm. This performance seemed to make an impression with the students, who asked many questions after the performances, and everyone wanted to give the janggo a try.

The final performance was by an ensemble of Ji Sun Han, Soo Kyung Jung, Eun Su Kim, and Sebastian Wang, who performed Arirang of Korea.

Following the six performances, many students crowded around to get the performers’ autographs. Other students, like Marriah Nunuz, crowded around the instruments displayed by the Korean Cultural Center, and tried them out for themselves.

Although many students were at a loss for words to describe such a different and unique performance, those interviewed all agreed that it was an awesome way to end the school week.

Dynamic-Korea.com
Intern Marissa Citro