Ham Tongjŏngwol kayagŭm sanjo 함 동정월 가야금 산조

Korean folk music (minyo and related traditions) encompasses the vernacular songs, percussion ensembles, narrative epics, and ritual pieces that grew outside the court in villages and marketplaces across the Korean peninsula. It features cyclic rhythmic patterns (jangdan), pentatonic modal systems such as pyeongjo, ujo, and gyemyeonjo, and distinctive vocal ornamentation (sigimsae) that conveys the affect known as han (a bittersweet, often plaintive sentiment). Core idioms include minyo (regional folksongs like Arirang), pansori (long-form sung storytelling), sinawi (shamanic-rooted ensemble improvisation), and pungmul/nongak (outdoor farmers’ percussion), performed on instruments such as gayageum and geomungo (zithers), haegeum (spike fiddle), daegeum and piri (flutes/oboes), and the four samul percussion instruments (kkwaenggwari, jing, janggu, buk).