Gwangju Seo-gu to Host Talk Concert with Master Shinsangcheol on the 29th

Published 28 Nov.2023 13:42(KST)

Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim Ikang) announced on the 28th that it will hold a talk concert titled "Meeting Many Cultural Heritages on Wednesday" at 7 PM on the 29th at the Bitgoeul Gugak Training Center performance hall.

The star of this year's final stage is Shin Sangcheol, a master of the national intangible cultural heritage Gurye Hyangje Julpungnyu (haegeum), a human cultural asset who is usually difficult for local residents to access.

Seogu will hold a talk concert titled "Meeting Many Cultural Heritages on Wednesday" at 7 p.m. on the 29th at the Bitgoeul Gugak Training Center performance hall.
[Photo by Seogu]

"Pungnyu" is a quiet and elegant music enjoyed by the upper class, and among them, "Hyangje Julpungnyu" refers to our indigenous pungnyu-style music passed down regionally.

It is mainly centered on string instruments such as geomungo, gayageum, and yanggeum, so it is also called string Yeongsanhoesang, and wind instruments such as sepiro, daegeum, haegeum, danso, and janggu are arranged together to play a savory pungnyu melody.

In the past, Julpungnyu was passed down in each region, but today only Gurye Hyangje Julpungnyu and Iri Hyangje Julpungnyu are designated and preserved as national intangible cultural heritage.

In this talk concert, conducted by Lee Yunseon (Ph.D. in Literature, Cultural Heritage Administration Cultural Heritage Specialist), Shin Sangcheol will perform Gurye Hyangje Julpungnyu, characterized by long breath and clear melodies, on the Bitgoeul Gugak Training Center stage together with yanggeum (Jeong Songhee), gayageum (Shim Seongja), janggu (Seon Yeongsuk), daegeum (Lee Sojeong), and ajaeng sanjo (Shin Hyunsik).

The performance is free to watch without separate application, and it will be live-streamed on the Bitgoeul Gugak Training Center YouTube channel.

For more details, please contact the Culture and Arts Division of Seo-gu, Gwangju, or the Bitgoeul Gugak Training Center.

Meanwhile, Shin Sangcheol, the haegeum master of the national intangible cultural heritage Gurye Hyangje Julpungnyu, majored in haegeum at the National Traditional Arts High School and has walked the path of a gugak musician for over 50 years, serving as the permanent leader of the Seoul Municipal Gugak Orchestra and Gwangju Municipal Gugak Orchestra, gugak leader of Jinju Municipal Gugak Orchestra, and head of instrumental music and permanent conductor of Jeonnam Provincial Gugak Orchestra.

Also, Shin Sangcheol, who was taught by Park Jongseon, the founder of "Park Jongseon Ajaeng Sanjo," is also skilled in ajaeng performance and is famous as a gugak family.

Shin’s wife, Seon Yeongsuk, is a gayageum master and holder of the Jeollanam-do intangible cultural heritage gayageum sanjo, and their sons Shin Hyunsik (representative ajaeng player of Ensemble Sinawi) and Shin Hyunseok (haegeum player) are also active gugak musicians.