Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Norway

Janggu (장구) - The Drum That Portrays the Sound of Rain

Cheryl Hagen

What is Janggu (장구)?

The janggu drum is one of the traditional Korean instruments that have been used in many kinds of music since the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). Playing the janggu is a way an artist can express their feelings or portray their life by the beat of their drum. Some might know the janggu drum by its nickname, the double headed Korean hourglass drum. The shape is similar to an hourglass with a narrow neck in the middle. It has North and South sides covered in leather, symbolizing when the yin and yang meet. There is a bass tone (left side) that is played With a gungchae mallet (궁채) and the treble tone (right side) sound is played using a yeolchae stick (열채). The buckles are used to tune the drum to its desired tone. It is carried with a strap over the shoulder or by sitting Next to it on the floor or in a chair. There are different sizes for men, women and children to use ranging from very large or very small.

How a janggu drum is made.

Royal foxglove trees are usually used to make a janggu when it is made out of wood. Once a tree is found, a sound test is done; and the older the tree, the stronger the sound. After choosing the tree, the carving of the drum begins. Just one small mistake with the chisel will prevent the drum from producing the right sounds so the craftsman must be careful the barrel shape isn't too thick or thin. The way the janggu is made varies from region to region, however using one long tree stump instead of different carved pieces of wood, can produce a better echo- a feature artists like during their performances. When this first carving phase is Complete, it will need to ripen outdoors. This can take up to 2-3 years. Afterwards, it gets carved again, both inside and out, until it is time to put on the leather made from cowhide, sheepskin or horsehide. Before cutting and sewing the leather onto the drum heads, it needs to soak in cold water for about 5 hours. Musling or hemp rope is used to put the janggu drum together and then the final sound check is done to complete their work. From finding the perfect tree to carving the shape, the details and craftmanship are so precise that it is no Wonder it takes several years to make one janggu drum.

It is pupular with children to make a janggu drum using two ramyun noodle bowls (컵라면 장구) and other household items.

The basics of playing a janggu.

When I took a beginner's lesson on how to play a janggu, I learned the basic skills of how to hold the mallet and stick, as well as some of the notes such as; deong (덩), deo (더), kung (쿵), deo reo reo reo (더러러러), kideok (기덕) and yo (요) and their symbols. I became fascinated as the teacher would teach me more and more facts about the janggu drum. The lesson continued with me learning part of the janggu solo called Seoljang-go (설장고) and the accompaniment to the Korean folk song, Arirang (아리랑).

Where to see performance with janggu.

In the Republic of Korea, you can usually watch performances with janggu and traditional Korean instruments either at special theaters or Music institutions or during festivals. They are also played on holidays like Chuseok (추석) and Seolnal (설날). A Korean performance like the Samulnori (사물놀이) consists of four instruments, one of them being janggu (장구) that represents rain, but (북) that represents the clouds, jing (징) that represents the Wind and kkwaenggwari (꽹과리) that represents thunder. Other Korean performances where you might find janggu are Pungmulnori (풍물놀이), Aak (아악) and Jung (정악).

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[Sources]

- My teacher, 김희영 (Reika Hosi) - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012732910452

- http://academy.gugak.go.kr/dp/pds/HTML5-2-4-2/HTML5-2-4-2-3/index.htm

- http://english.visitseoul.net/tours/Traditional-Korean-Music-Pungmullori8_/12998

- Arirang Culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heOMlwFXyMU

- Talk to me in Korean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hHa2fKkzmw