Pop Goes Korea Music Analysis

This chapter will explore the development and the popular culture and industry rise, especially in terms of music. As Mark James Russell wrote in his book Pop Goes Korea: “Koreans have long been known as singers and lovers of music, as visiting envoys from China pointed out over 1500 years ago. There were several music traditions in the Joseon dynasty [of 1392 to 1897]. The most famous, the long song-story pansori, grew from the shaman culture of Korea’s southwest. In addition, farmers’ music, courtly music, and many other forms existed. The Joseon-period musicians also invented six different types of music notation; the first and most important, cheongganbo, was created in the mid-15th century.”
The traditional Korean court music was based upon individual version as well as meticulous routine learning. In Russell’s words, “the most important thing to know about Korean traditional music was its free, improvisational nature.” (Russell 2008: 7). Unlike the rigid perfectionism of its neighbors (or even that of Western classical …show more content…
The song originated in 1914, and the play is an adaptation of Tolstoy’s Resurrection. The song became a hit in 1915, when it was released a title song its refrain, “Kachyusa, you’re so lovely / How sad that we must part,” became a common motto coast-to-coast. The play’s actors, Shimamura and Matsui, who were in relationship gained on fame and their private lives were widely discussed, already at that time, in newspapers. The irony of the song’s name is that after a flu epidemic, Shimamura passed away while Matsui lived for two agonizing months, completely healthy and lonely. She then decided to commit suicide and follow her love; a sad is the irony for the song marks the music industry beginning while there hides the singer’s death