By Min Yea-Ji and Kim Young Shin
Photos = National Gugak Center
Seoul | April 5, 2018

In Korean folk mythology, there are house deities that protect different rooms, such as the Jowangsin kitchen god (조왕신, 竈王神) or the Samsin gods of one's offspring and health (삼신, 三神). In charge of all of these house deities is the Seongjusin, the god that controls the fortune of the whole family (성주신, 城主神).

On April 5, the National Gugak Center put on "Seongjuya Seongjuroguna" (성주야 성주로구나), a musical adaptation of many Seongju-gut (성주굿) rituals and prayers to the Seongjusin family god, praying for luck for the whole family and for protection from disasters.

The show is a collection of musical pieces from actual seongju-gut rituals from across different regions of Korea. Each region's rituals and rites have distinct characteristics affected by geographical features.

Music from the Seodo region, a mountainous area of Hwanghae-do and Pyeongan-do Province in what is today North Korea that has very poor fertility, is said to have a somewhat crude tone. Music from Gyeonggi-do Province, a region with rivers, the sea and mountains all together, is described as being dynamic, rich and delicate. Music from the southern coastal regions of the peninsula, mostly expressing longing for family members who left to work on the open sea, is characterized by deep shaky lyrics and dramatic drops and rises in the melody.

The musical instruments used by the mudang shamans for the gut rituals include fans, bells and white paper.

“Music from shamanistic gut rites and exorcisms, which can be called the root of Korea's folk music, has melodies sung by the commoners for the gods, through the shaman,” explained director Kim Min Kyung of the National Gugak Center. “We tried to convey this original music in our show.”



jesimin@korea.kr