Traditional music of Korea
Korea has produced music (Korean: 음악; RR: eumak; MR: ŭmak) from thousands of years, until the modern day. After the division of Korea in 1945, both North and South Korea have produced their own styles of music.
This article is about music of Korea before 1945. For Korean music after 1945, see Music of South Korea and Music of North Korea.
Traditional music (국악; gugak; lit. national music[1]) produced by Korea includes court music, folk music, poetic songs, and religious music used in shamanistic and Buddhist traditions.[2]
Modern music includes K-pop (케이팝; keipap), the popular music of South Korea. North Korea also produces its own popular music, as well as music that's inspired by traditional music.
History[edit]
Proto-Three Kingdoms of Korea[edit]
Not much is known about music from the Proto-Three Kingdoms of Korea period (before 57 BCE). It is believed that Korean people practiced shamanistic rituals involving music at agricultural festivals.[2] Tomb murals and ceramics from this period depict string instruments with complex features that suggest the instruments were quite developed.[3]