[N Focus] Why Global Musicians Are Coming to Korea to Learn Gugak

 

Participants practice the janggu during the 2026 International Gugak Training Program. Photo courtesy of the National Gugak Center.

Korean traditional music is attracting a different kind of international audience.

Rather than filling concert halls, musicians from around the world are traveling to Korea to study gugak at its source—learning directly from master performers, playing traditional instruments and experiencing an art form that cannot be fully understood through recordings or sheet music alone.

That growing interest was on display this summer as the National Gugak Center hosted its 2026 International Gugak Training Program alongside a separate residency for overseas Korean communities and foreign gugak ensembles. Together, the initiatives reflect a broader shift in Korea's cultural strategy: investing not only in exporting performances, but also in helping international artists make Korean traditional music part of their own creative practice.

Participants receive piri instruction during the international training program. Photo courtesy of the National Gugak Center.

From June 29 to July 10, fifteen composers, performers and university professors from eight countries, including the United States, Canada, France and Spain, took part in the intensive residency.

The curriculum combined lectures with daily performance training. Participants explored the history and theory of Korean music before moving into hands-on lessons covering instruments such as the gayageum, geomungo, daegeum, haegeum, piri and ajaeng.

Instead of simply observing performances, they spent two weeks playing the instruments themselves, learning traditional rhythmic patterns and taking part in experiences ranging from East Coast Byeolsingut rituals to pansori and traditional dance workshops.

Unlike many short-term cultural exchanges, the program is designed to leave a lasting impact long after participants return home.

Creating Collaborators, Not Just Audiences

Participants experience gut music during the international training program. Photo courtesy of the National Gugak Center.

International cultural exchange has traditionally centered on touring productions and one-off performances. The National Gugak Center is taking a different approach—one that emphasizes education as a foundation for long-term collaboration.

Many of this year's participants are active composers, performers and ethnomusicologists whose work extends well beyond the concert stage. By studying gugak in Korea, they gain firsthand experience that can shape future compositions, university courses and cross-cultural research long after the program ends.

That approach has already produced tangible results.

American composer Edward Schocker, who attended the International Gugak Training Program in 2016, returned to Korea this year to premiere SELF_LESS, a new work created with the gugak ensemble PHASE at the National Gugak Center's Umyeondang Hall. Rather than serving as a standalone exchange, the residency became the starting point for an ongoing artistic partnership.

This year's class also featured one particularly recognizable name.

British bassist Paul Westwood, whose recording career includes collaborations with David Bowie and Elton John, joined the program to study Korean traditional music firsthand. His participation reflects the growing interest among internationally established musicians in exploring gugak as a creative resource rather than simply a cultural curiosity.

Strengthening Gugak Through Overseas Communities

Participants practice samulnori during the Overseas Korean & Gugak Ensemble Invitational Training Program. Photo courtesy of the National Gugak Center.

While the international residency was underway in Seoul, the National Namdo Gugak Center in Jindo hosted a parallel program for overseas Korean communities and foreign gugak groups.

Twenty-nine participants—including members of the National Association of Korean Language Schools, the University of Michigan's Sinaboro Samulnori Club and Georgia Tech—completed intensive training in samulnori and haegeum performance.

Each group received up to 40 hours of practical instruction while also visiting cultural sites around Dadohaehaesang National Park, giving participants a broader understanding of the traditions that shape Korean music.

For many attendees, the experience serves a practical purpose. They return home not only with stronger performance skills, but also with new tools for teaching, performing and introducing gugak within their own communities.

Since the program began in 2006, the National Namdo Gugak Center has welcomed more than 2,100 participants from 101 organizations across 19 countries. Many alumni continue to lead performances, educational programs and cultural events that introduce Korean traditional music to local audiences around the world.

A Long-Term Investment in Cultural Exchange

Participants join a composition workshop with the National Gugak Center Creative Orchestra. Photo courtesy of the National Gugak Center.

As Korea expands its cultural presence worldwide, institutions are placing greater emphasis on building sustainable creative networks rather than measuring success solely by the number of overseas performances or exported productions.

For gugak, that strategy is particularly meaningful. Much of its artistry lies in nuances that are difficult to capture through notation or digital media alone—from subtle ornamentation and rhythmic phrasing to the interaction between performers. Those elements are best understood through direct instruction and shared performance.

That philosophy has guided the National Gugak Center's International Gugak Training Program since its launch in 2001. Over the years, it has grown beyond an educational residency into a platform where international musicians encounter Korean traditional music, develop new artistic perspectives and build lasting relationships with Korean performers.

The objective is no longer simply to introduce gugak to overseas audiences. It is to cultivate musicians who will carry Korean traditional music into concert halls, classrooms and creative projects across the world.

As more artists choose to study gugak in Korea, the tradition is evolving from a cultural heritage preserved within national borders into a living musical language shared through international collaboration.

Participants take part in a traditional Korean dance workshop during the international training program. Photo courtesy of the National Gugak Center.

Reported by News Culture [e-mail]