Do you know about fusion Gugak?

 Recently, the popularity and interest of K-pop is very high around the world. With the popularity of K-pop, people around the world began to pay attention to Korean pop music. Among the various genres of music in Korea, the genre "Fusion Gugak" is emerging. Although the genre of "Fusion Gugak" may be unfamiliar, let's find out what fusion Gugak is.

 Gugak is a folk-style creative song that can be easily sung by the public by utilizing the rhythms of traditional Korean music. Fusion Gugak is a traditional music derived from Gugak and played using both Korean and Western musical instruments. In addition, fusion Gugak is characterized by a fast rhythm and a catchphrase used in hip-hop, unlike traditional Gugak genres. Fusion Gugak is able to express Korea's unique lyrical feelings by using traditional Korean folk music, and gives fresh experience to listeners by combining pops of modern music genres.

 In 1990, the song "Haega" by singer Seo Taiji and Boys was a combination of traditional Korean music and rap, and was popular for giving freshness to the public through traditional Korean music genres such as gugak and rap, a contemporary music genre. The song "IDOL," which was recently released by BTS in 2018, also used Korean traditional music instruments and traditional Korean traditional music rhythms for its songs. The sound of traditional Korean musical instruments and the rhythm of Korean traditional music harmonized with modern K-pop to express exciting tunes and excitement. Recently, Korean idol singers have been presenting a variety of performances combining Korean traditional music and pop genres, such as BTS.

Many singers give the public a fresh experience by using fusion Gugak, and the Korea Tourism Organization has also produced promotional videos for Korea using fusion Gugak genres.

 The promotional video has garnered 260 million views on YouTube. The pansori band "Inalchi," which promoted Korea, did not stay in traditional Korean music, but added variations or combined with other genres to form a tempo or rhythm familiar to the younger generation, making it easier for modern people to enjoy Korean unique music.

 Actually, not many people know the genre of fusion Gugak, it may be unfamiliar when you first listen to fusion Gugak. However, I think fusion Gugak will have a new experience, both visually and audibly, as it combines Korean unique music genres with pop genres of modern music. So I recommend you listen to fusion Gugak.

▲ Fusion Gugak Performance / Source : Fusion Gugak Yeon Cafe