Aak: Ancient Music of the Korean Royal Court

Korean music (gugak) encompasses the traditional, courtly, religious, and folk music of the Korean Peninsula, as well as the modern popular styles that emerged in the 20th and 21st centuries. Traditional Korean music is built on modal systems such as pyeongjo and gyemyeonjo, cyclical rhythms called jangdan (e.g., jinyangjo, jungmori, jajinmori), heterophonic textures, and expressive ornamentation known as sigimsae. Core instruments include the gayageum (zither), geomungo (plucked zither), daegeum (bamboo flute), haegeum (two-string fiddle), piri (oboe), and percussion like janggu and buk. Modern Korean music ranges from trot and ballad to globalized K-pop, K-rap, and K-rock, blending indigenous aesthetics with Western harmony, electronic production, and tightly choreographed performance.