By Honorary Reporter John Paul Vergonia from the Philippines

A feast for the eyes and ears, calming for the mind and enriching the soul. This is how I feel about traditional Korean music and performing arts.

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has teamed up with Korea National University of Arts (KNUA) and the National Gugak Center in Seoul to offer traditional Korean performing arts online through their websites, YouTube and Naver.

Korean folk music, traditional dances and rituals are featured in the videos uploaded daily on social media channels, in addition to ballet and Western music concerts.

I find Korean performing arts distinctive, with most of them presented through a combination of traditional music and folk songs, ritualistic dances and fluid storytelling. I wasn't into folk songs and operas but the popular Korean folk song "Arirang" made me a fan.

I also like KNUA alumnus and pansori singer Kim Nani's performance of Sacheolga "Song for Four Seasons." Pansori, sometimes called Korean folk opera, is a narrative musical performed by a folk singer and accompanied by a drummer.

Sinawi presented by the National Gugak Center will definitely help bring peace and calm at this tense moment. This traditional shamanistic music is performed by an ensemble of musical traditional instruments such as a double-reed bamboo oboe (piri), a two-string zither (haegeum) and a large bamboo transverse flute (daegeum). With its origin, I find it charming as the traditional music it creates.

KNUA dance major Kim Dong-hyun's video "Boy in Blue Suits... Asks How Are You Doing" and the sinawi ensemble of the Namwon National Gugak Center can also provide relief from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The beauty and elegance of the traditional Korean clothing Hanbok are also showcased in all of the performances, including the integration of arts in calligraphy, painting and embroidery with meticulous details. A wide array of Hanbok, from the most common to those worn by the royal family, make the videos a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

KNUA offers its online concert series through March 31. The gugak (traditional music) center started posting its online concerts from March 17 that includes about 11 performances by the traditional music groups Jeongakdan and Minsokakdan.

chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.