I realize I am behind on posting but I seem to have been busier than normal. Hopefully I can get back on my regular schedule and get some of my thoughts down on paper (or computer)!
Ken and I had a pleasant surprise on Friday night. The company that leases our apartment to us gave us some tickets to the Geoje Island Art Center, which is located in the town south of us called Jansuengpo. We weren't quite sure what we were going to see but we knew it had something to do with music and dancing. When we arrived, we saw a few other people we knew and were able to sit together to watch the performance. The theater was fairly full with mainly Koreans.
It began with 6 men and women sitting on the stage with various instruments. The women were dressed in beautiful traditional Korean dress. There was one woman playing a wooden flute and four others playing stringed instruments. I looked some of the instruments up and found that one of them was called a guhmoongo.
It is larger than it looks in the picture (maybe 3 or 4 feet) and was played either with a bow, a stick or by plucking with fingers. The other stringed instrument was a haegum, which was played rather like a cello except for the fact that it was quite a bit smaller, more like a violin.
The music itself was not the most pleasant sounding I have heard. I could not imagine how they were keeping time. They could have made a huge mistake and we would have never known the difference. Ken later said he was worried that the whole presentation would be this, but I thought it was entertaining to watch the musicians.
During the presentation, there were 2 different dance numbers. One was with fans - I actually found a picture on the internet that looks like the dress they wore.
There also was a lady that came out onto the stage with much acclaim who talked and sang. It became obvious that she was telling a story of some sort. What surprised me was the audience. They would shout out words and sometimes sing along. Even though we didn't understand, it was fun to watch.
However, the most amazing part of the show were the 5 Korean drummers. They first sat on the stage playing various drums and percussion instruments. They were absolutely wonderful. I couldn't believe how long they could keep it up and stay in rhythm with each other. Talking about it doesn't do it justice. After a short break - there was some more music and dance - they came back out from the back of the theater. They marched down the aisles with some very interesting hats on. When they got on the stage, the purpose of the hats became apparent. I also found a picture of one of them that is exactly how these men were dressed.
The long ribbon twirled around and every which way while they danced and played these amazing drums. Dependent on how they moved their head, the ribbon would follow along. It was truly astonishing, especially since they were energetically dancing and playing the drums at the same time. Hopefully we will have another chance to see this while we are in Korea.
When it was over, they all went outside and you were able to take pictures.
What a great experience!
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