Interview
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The Bible says that in the beginning there was the Word. Scientists say that in the beginning there was a Big Bang. Artist Kim Deok-su says that in the beginning there was jitgeori, which refers to the cheerful sound and action made to express one’s sentiment and inform other people of something. Samulnori (lively and vibrant percussion music commonly played by farmers and has become the most popular type of Korean traditional folk music) is a type of music that best expresses the cheerful sentiment deep inside people’s heart so well that it could strike with the heart of people all around the world.
- I had an opportunity to meet with Kim Deok-su, who has contributed greatly in raising awareness of the beauty of Korean traditional music around the world. He was short but had a solid build. His big and bright eyes appeared to indicate his concentration towards one path. When he spoke, he spoke eloquently and he sounded like a brave uniformed soldier. I thought, “Ah, he is like a mudang (exorcist).” Though mudang are not highly recognized these days, in the Gojoseon Period, the mudang was the King, who acted as the chief priest in a rite for paying homage to heaven, in addition to being skillful in music and medical treatment. Kim’s charisma reminded me of such an exorcist.
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He said, “Not long ago, just 30 to 40 years ago when black and white TV first appeared in rural villages, those like me were the entertainers. Every village had skillful players of buk (drum), kkwaenggwari (small gong), jing (large gong), and janggu (hourglass-shaped drum). And music played a central role in people’s everyday lives. Virtually everything, including parties, shamanistic rites, manual labor or even wars, had to be accompanied by cheerful melodies of music.”
He asked me about what songs present-day Koreans can sing together at social gatherings. What came to my mind as an answer was Arirang or Urieui Sowoneun Tongil (Our Wish is Unification). Over the past half-century, we were obsessed with the rapid economic growth we had been making and were more focused on our everyday lives. But on the other hand, we are losing our identity. We look Korean on the outside but the uniquely Korean spirit is no longer in our inner mind. The lively traditional culture is withering away, and greed and a sense of helplessness is what is left.
Kim Deok-su wishes to revive the traditional spirit and cheerfulness that Koreans used to have. To do so, he says that the world in which we live should be nanjang. Many of us regard the word “nanjang” as a negative word referring it to nanjangpan (chaotic scene). However, the word nanjang originally means an irregularly held fair. Nanjang was a place where people enjoyed food, music and dancing, in addition to making transactions. It was a place full of energy and life.
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He said, “People cannot stay calm and quiet seven days a week. Sometimes they can have some liquor and engage in disorderly acts under the influence of liquor. Nanjang was a place where order and chaos coexisted. It was a nanjang that I made my debut as a member of Namsadang.”
In 1987, he started a movement for the revival of nanjang, with the help of Japanese artists. This movement was an aesthetic and philosophical movement aimed to pursue freedom and humanism and to make efforts for the conservation of our world and nature.
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Nanjang can be held anywhere, including a pub or a shopping mall, if the mood of cheerfulness can be revived. He expressed the hope that his movement can help the society regain its humanity and create positive mental attitudes. His plan includes the training of lecturers engaged in the work of spreading traditional culture throughout society using Korean traditional music just like how we train lectures engaged in recreational work.
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When asked how his view of samulnori has changed as an entertainer, he answered, “When I was young, I paid much attention to techniques, such as how many sub-rhythms could be put into a long beat. Now, I find myself pursuing a simplified and subdued style of music, with miscellaneous details put aside, going back to the basics my master used to teach when I tried playing janggu for the first time in my life.”
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His experience tells him that what are important in music are not techniques, but concentration and attentiveness. With proper concentration, it is possible to freely adjust where to burst out and where to stop crying within a rhythm. Concentration is where the difference between a novice and a master is found.
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He has performed in many countries in his efforts to share the country’s traditional music with people around the world. He has also attempted to cross-over and affiliate with various genres of music, such as jazz, rock, Western classical and even hip hop with the view of having young fans of modern music realize the fun of listening to the country’s traditional music.
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He says that his one and only goal in his life is to express and preserve the Korean people’s spirit and pursue peace and harmony with people all around the world through samulnori.
- Curriculum vitae [ Kim Deok-su ]
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- Representative, the SamulNori Hanullim Performing Art Troupe
- Professor at Korea National University of Arts
- Received the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize.
- Received Eungwan Order of Culture Merit.
