18 String Gayageum

'Gugak' is a mobile application that let’s you play the traditional Korean musical instruments, such as Gayageum. Gugak uses real instrument sound and various tonal tuning settings, allowing you to experience the enthusiastic Korean music!

18 String Gayageum is a typical Korean string instrument. Its origin is traced back to the period of three kingdoms, whose chronicles reported that Gaya’s King Kasil ordered a famous musician, Uruk, to create it. As the kingdom of Gaya dwindled in power, Uruk moved and brought the instrument to Silla. From there, it expanded as a popular musical instrument throughout Korean history—unified Silla, Goryeo Dynasty, and Jogeon Dynasty periods—and is still played today. The instrument can be classified into two types of genres: Jeong-ak (court music) and San-jo (folk music).

18 String Gayageum is also known as Beop-Geum and Pung-Ryu Gayageum. It is characterized by a wooden peg called Yang-Idu, which means ram’s horns; the peg holds the strings to the bottom of the instrument. The structure is similar to that of other gayageum instruments, but its size, range, and required techniques are different from those of the 18 String Gayageum.

Enjoy Korean music with 18 String Gayageum!


Developers:
Hyojee Kang, PyoungRyang Ko, Byongoh Ko, Daehyun Kim, Mijung Kim, Youngsun Kim, Taeeun Kim, Haeyun Kim, Sangbong Nam, Jisung Moon, Suchul Park, Jaerock Park, Jungho Bang, Yunjeong Seo, Hyangsook Song, Junseok An, Rina Yoo, So Jeong Youn, Gang Seong Lee, Donoung Lee, Doohyun Lee, Suzin Rhee, Sun-jin Lee, Kihyun Jung, Youngmi Cho, Jinok Cho


Support:
This work was financially supported by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), an affiliate organization of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Korea (MCST), under the frame of the project KOCCA-2012-HE1405-R2012030134.