Pungmul
Originally posted on April 10th, 2014.
Pungmul 풍물 is a Korean folk music tradition. I had the chance to see a performance last week when one if my Kumdo friends invited me to the performance of her Pungmul club.
I was pretty excited when she invited me because I did not really know what Pungmul is like. When we arrived we got white Tteok as a snack which I really started to like since I am in Korea. This is one of the many types of rice cakes that Koreann love to eat - I definitely come back with those in my food posts.
The Pungmul club is hosting a performance every year where their family and friends get together. So it was a really nice and relaxed atmosphere.
I also learned that Pungmul is rooted in the farming culture and was played as part of farm work during rural holidays and other village community-building events. They were sometimes also accompanied by shamanistic rituals or mask dance dramas. What is very interesting is that during the 1960s and 1970s it transitioned to a new meaning when it was actively used in political protests during the pro-democracy movement.
Today it is just seen as a performance. But still, before the performance started there was traditional ceremony which was opened by the Pungmul master.
And then I got to see different types of Pungmul performances varying from 2 to up to 20 people, some dances were so graceful and some included little plays. The highlight was when the whole club performed. I really like the traditional colorful clothes that they were wearing. And I was astonished by the special ribbon-hats called Sangmo and how they danced while playing the drums.
Looking forward to more things I will learn about the Korean culture and traditions.
