geomungo

The geomungo 's place in Korean culture is traditionally that of a scholars' instrument for self-cultivation, much like ancient Chinese had done with the guqin in China. However, the Koreans never adopted the guqin as a folk instrument but instead inherited the Confucian and literati guqin lore wholesale and applied it onto their own geomungo lore.

• Hangul — 거문고 • Hangul1 — 현금 • Hanja1 — 玄琴

• Illustration — An 11-stringed modern geomungo The geomungo originated circa the 4th century (see Anak Tomb No.3 infra) through the 7th century from the kingdom of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, although the instrument can be traced back to the 4th century. According to the 1145 historical text Samguk sagi, the geomungo was invented in the 6th century by prime minister Wang San-ak by remodeling the form of the ancient Chinese instrument guqin (gogeum, also called chilhyeongeum, literally "seven-string zither"). After his death, the instrument was passed down to Ok Bogo, Son Myeong-deuk, Gwi Geum, An Jang, Cheong Jang, and Geuk Jong, while being widely spread over the kingdom. However, National Gugak Center of Korea raises the possibility that the geomungo originated from a traditional musical instrument of Goguryeo before Guqin was introduced. Meanwhile, Japanese scholars claim that the predecessor of geomungo was the wo konghou (卧箜篌), a fretted bridge zither that was used in China since at least the Western Han Dynasty, and opinion about predecessor of Geomungo is still discussed among East Asian Scholars. Archetype of the instrument is painted in Goguryeo tombs. They are found in the tomb of Muyongchong and Anak Tomb No.3.

The geomungo is approximately 162 cm long and 23 cm wide (63.75 inches long, 9 inches wide), and has movable bridges called anjok (雁足 "goose feet") and 16 frets called gwae (棵; numbered 1 to 16 from left to right). It has a hollow body where the front plate of the instrument is made of paulownia wood and the back plate is made of hard chestnut wood. Its six strings, which are made of twisted silk passed through its back plate. The pick is made from bamboo sticks in the size of regular household pencil. Near the bridge is a leather-covered section called daemo to protect the surface from the striking of the suldae stick. The six strings are named (from closest one to the player outward) munhyeon (文弦 "civil string"), yuhyeon (遊弦 "roaming string"), daehyeon (大弦 "big string"), gwaesangcheong (棵上清 "clarity upon the frets"), gwaehacheong (棵下清 "clarity below the frets"), and muhyeon (武弦 "martial string"), and are numbered 1 to 6 respectively in notation (or 文、方、大、上、中、下 in tablature form). Strings 2 to 4 go over fret 1 and are positioned over the frets whilst 1, 5, and 6 are supported by the anjok bridges. Strings 2 and 3 are used to play stopped notes and the rest are played open or as drones (even string 4 which is above the frets, though it is sometimes played stopped in some pieces). The thickness of the strings are not sequential: usually the thickest string is the daehyeon, followed by the munhyeon and muhyeon. The yuhyeo is usually the thinnest string followed by the gwaesangcheong and gwaehacheong, though some have the gwaesangcheong as the thinnest followed by the yuhyeon. Modernized geomungo increases the strings to 11, which are made of nylon. As with the traditional version, three strings are over the frets and the others are all open. But the traditional version of the geomungo has 6 strings, with three over the frets. Recently, the 6-string geomungo has been modified quite a lot, with the appearance of electronic geomungo. The instrument has been played with a hwaldae bow, similar to playing the ajaeng), and some versions have more strings. The Chinese wo konghou has 7 strings while the traditional geomungo only has 6 strings. In the development of culture, besides the conservation artists, inheriting the cultural tradition of the nation, there are artists who change and modernize the traditional culture of the nation.