13 - Korean music before and after the West

Summary

This chapter explores the development of Western music in Korea, and the impact it has had on music and musical discourse. The twentieth century saw the development of music education and musicology in Korea, and the introduction of music training in universities and conservatoires, using Western models and, initially, focusing on Western music. Western music became a formal part of the Korean school curriculum shortly after Japan took control. Music training for budding Western musicians was initiated at the Choyang Club. Musicology catapulted kugak into the public arena, encouraging government agencies to promote it. The transition whereby kugak moved onto public stages was assisted by recording and broadcast technologies. Post-liberation at the end of the Pacific War, Western music dominated the media in South Korea. Public pop music retained eponymous pan-Asian balladry, based in Korea on yuhaengga, until democracy and music videos arrived in the early 1990s.