Hwasun-gun Successfully Concludes the 42nd Namdo Gugak Festival

Published 29 Nov.2021 12:38(KST)

[Hwasun=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Ji-woon] Jeollanam-do Hwasun-gun (Governor Gu Chung-gon) announced on the 29th that the 42nd Namdo Gugak Festival was successfully concluded on the 26th at the Hanium Culture and Sports Center Jeokbyeok Hall.

Hosted by the Jeollanam-do Branch of the Korean Gugak Association (Branch Chief Song Ho-jong) and organized by the Hwasun-gun Branch (Branch Chief Park Mi-jung), this Namdo Gugak Festival is a cultural and artistic festival in which masters and famous singers from various regions of Jeollanam-do participate to preserve and pass down the traditional folk arts of Namdo.

This year, 89 teams and about 350 participants from 15 cities and counties in Jeollanam-do competed passionately in five categories: Namdo folk songs, Pansori, dance, gosu (drummers), and Nongak (farmers' music).

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, only the 15 branches affiliated with the Jeollanam-do Branch of the Korean Gugak Association participated, and the event was held without an audience and on a small scale.

Before the competition, performances by masters and famous singers such as the Han Myeong-seon Dance Troupe’s ‘Sound of the Gods’ and the Park Gwan-yong Preservation Society’s ‘Jindo Buknori’ were held, providing an opportunity to fully enjoy the excitement of Gugak.

The Hwasun-gun Branch won awards in seven categories, including the general division grand prize in Pansori, the general division excellence award in Namdo folk songs, and the general division excellence award in the gosu category. The overall grand prize went to the Haenam-gun Branch.

A county official said, “We are grateful to the Jeollanam-do Branch of the Korean Gugak Association for their efforts to inherit and develop traditional cultural arts,” and added, “We hope this event will serve as an opportunity to widely promote the tradition and excellence of Gugak.”