Suncheon Nagan Eupseong National Gayageum Byeongchang Competition Held

Published 10 May.2023 16:16(KST)

Preliminary Round on the 20th and Final Competition on the 21st

Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu) is hosting the "15th Suncheon Nagan Eupseong National Gayageum Byeongchang Competition," organized by the Nagan Eupseong Gayageum Byeongchang Preservation Society (Representative Lee Young-ae), which will be held on the special stage at the Nagan Eupseong Guesthouse on the 20th.

This competition is a venue where Gayageum Byeongchang performers compete in their artistic skills and passion. Participants from all over the country will go through preliminaries and showcase the best Gayageum Byeongchang in the finals.

[Photo by Suncheon City]

The competition categories include eight divisions: Elementary School (individual, group), Middle School, High School, Rookie (individual, group), University, and Master divisions. Each category awards prizes such as the Speaker of the National Assembly Award, Prime Minister Award, Minister of Education Award, Governor of Jeollanam-do Award, Suncheon Mayor Award, and Chairman of Suncheon City Council Award.

Gayageum Byeongchang is a unique genre of Korean traditional music where the singer performs Pansori, Danga, or folk songs accompanied by their own Gayageum playing. It is designated as National Intangible Cultural Property No. 23 of the Republic of Korea.

Representative figures of Gayageum Byeongchang include Kim Chang-jo, Oh Soo-kwan, Oh Tae-seok, and Park Gwi-hee. Among them, Master Oh Tae-seok, born in Nagan, is the founder of modern Gayageum Byeongchang and was a renowned traditional music master during the Japanese colonial period.

A Suncheon city official stated, "Through this competition held at Nagan Eupseong, where the birthplace of the greatest Gayageum Byeongchang master Oh Tae-seok is located, we aim to discover and nurture talented individuals, widely promote our traditional Gayageum Byeongchang, and strive for the succession and development of traditional culture."