Aak: Ancient Music of the Korean Royal Court

Aak is the Korean form of Confucian court and ritual music, historically imported from Chinese yayue and naturalized in the Goryeo court before being codified in the Joseon dynasty. It is performed at solemn state rites—especially the Confucian shrine ceremony (Munmyo jerye) and the royal ancestral shrine ceremony (Jongmyo jerye)—and combines music, dance (ilmu), and ritual choreography. The sound-world is stately, measured, and controlled: instruments such as pyeonjong (bronze chime-bells) and pyeongyeong (stone chimes) articulate pitch frameworks, while wood and percussion signals (bak clapper, chuk wooden box, eo tiger-scraper) govern beginnings, sections, and cadences. Wind timbres (saenghwang mouth-organ, hun ocarina, ji end-blown flute, piri) and ancient zithers (geum/guqin, se) provide sustained, largely unison textures at very slow tempi. Today, aak survives as a living ceremonial tradition in South Korea, preserved and presented by state and shrine ensembles.