Goryeong-gun Successfully Concludes the 33rd National Ureuk Gayageum Competition

President's Award Winner Kim Haeram, Ureuk Award Prize Money 20 Million Won

The "33rd Goryeong National Ureuk Gayageum Competition," held in Goryeong-gun, the capital of Daegaya and the birthplace of the gayageum and the master musician Ureuk, concluded successfully.

2024 Goryeong National Ureuk Gayageum Competition Successfully Concluded.

Co-hosted by Goryeong-gun and the Goryeong Cultural Center, this year's competition took place from April 26 to 27, with 221 teams and 229 participants. Notably, the total prize money for this year’s event was 54.5 million KRW, and the top prize, the Ureuk Grand Prize, offered 20 million KRW, one of the highest amounts in the country, attracting many skilled participants who competed fiercely.

The Ureuk Grand Prize, which is the President’s Award, was awarded to Kim Haeram (Byeongchang, female, 31 years old, Seocho-gu, Seoul). Upon receiving the award, Kim Haeram expressed, “It is an immense honor to receive such a prestigious prize in Goryeong, the hometown of the gayageum. I am grateful to the organizers and judges who worked hard for this competition.”

The grand prize winners in each category were Shin Donghyun (Instrumental, 2nd year at Korea National University of Arts) in the university division, Park Eun-yul (Byeongchang, 3rd year at National High School of Traditional Arts) in the high school division, Ahn Hayun (Instrumental, 3rd year at Hwaseong Neungdong Middle School) in the middle school division, and Lim Yeo-bin (Byeongchang, 5th grade at Sanhyeon Elementary School) in the elementary division.

Judge Chairperson Park Hyunsook commented, “The contestants in this competition demonstrated uniformly high-level skills befitting the reputation of the country’s top gayageum competition, which is very satisfying.”

County Governor Lee Namcheol stated, “We will continue to provide ample support so that the Goryeong National Ureuk Gayageum Competition can establish itself as a stage for the dreams and opportunities of gayageum players. We will do our best to maintain its prestige and continue the tradition of the gayageum.”

The "33rd Goryeong National Ureuk Gayageum Competition," held since 1991 to honor the spirit of Ureuk and to carry on the tradition of Korean traditional music, is the country’s most historic and prestigious gayageum competition. It promotes the excellence of our culture widely and leads the development of local cultural arts.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.