Janggu (a long Korean drum that tapers in the middle) is one of the representative national percussion instruments loved and enjoyed by the Korean people for a long period of time.
Janggu originated in Koguryo. According to historical records, it was called “yogo” as it was a drum carried at the waist. “Yogo”, which looks similar to present janggu, is painted on the murals in Tomb No.4 and Tomb No. 5 of Jian Five Tombs, Koguryo tombs, and it is recorded in a number of historical books that Koguryo had a yogo. This shows that yogo was a predecessor of janggu and the Korean people have used it since the period of Koguryo.
Yogo, made by Koguryo people, was handed down to the people in Palhae. The yogo from Koguryo and Palhae was improved to be similar to the present janggu during the Koryo and the feudal Joson dynasties, and it was called janggo.
Janggu is a percussion instrument of an extraordinary shape, which has two resonance boxes that are linked together.
Its balanced and beautiful look aroused people’s attachment to janggu. The left-hand side with a big resonance box is called kungphyon, while the right-hand side with a small box is chaephyon. You play it by hitting the sides with a janggu stick in the right hand. The kungphyon is made of thick skin and the chaephyon is made of thin skin.
In the respect of a tone and a sound, the kungphyon produces low soft sounds while the chaephyon makes high sharp sounds. Therefore, the janggu plays the role of two drums and expresses satisfactorily a variety of Korean rhythms and exquisite tunes.
As the janggu had a very wide range of applications for a long period of time and made progress in various playing techniques, it played the role of a conductor in a small orchestra and it was even used as a solo instrument.
With rhythms of various characters that excite a national zest, the janggu makes a great contribution to improving the performances of national music and it is also used as stage props in a music and dance.
With a time-honoured tradition, the janggu has been developed in every way. It is a proud national percussion instrument that is still loved by the Korean people and makes a positive contribution to the development of national music and the cultural and emotional life.
Ri Yong Ho, section head at the Academy of Social Sciences
© 2021 KumChaek University of Technology