A visitor to the exhibition “Soundwaves of Science: Exploring the Science of Korean Music” at the Korean Cultural Centre in London on April 3 plays the janggu, a traditional drum with an hourglass shape.
By Gil Kyuyoung
Photos = National Science Museum
“Soundwaves of Science: Exploring the Science of Korean Music,” an exhibition jointly hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre (KCC) U.K. and the National Science Museum of Korea, has opened in London.
To run from April 3 through June 27, this event at the KCC is the museum’s first of its kind overseas to commemorate the latter’s 80th anniversary.
The three-section exhibition allows visitors to interpret and experience traditional music from a scientific perspective.
The first part sheds light on the process of establishing hwangjong, the standard note of traditional music set under the 1418-50 reign of King Sejong the Great during the Joseon Dynasty. Visitors can learn about the mathematical rules inherent in such music and the scientific methods used to make accurate notes.
The second analyzes the soundwaves of materials such as royal foxglove trees, reeds and silk threads to study the unique sounds of traditional instruments.
The third features leading traditional music such as Jongmyo Jeryeak, or royal ancestral ritual music at Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul, and daechwita (traditional military music). A musical performance features works composed by people and advanced technology like artificial intelligence.
About 200 people attended the opening ceremony including figures from the Science Museum, Royal Society, British Museum, National Gallery, Royal Academy of Music, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the U.K. public.
“British visitors to the exhibition will see that our traditional music is both a beautiful and very scientific art,” National Science Museum Chairperson Kwon Sukmin said. “We hope for more active bilateral scientific and cultural exchanges.”
Official poster for “Soundwaves of Science: Exploring the Science of Korean Music”
gilkyuyoung@korea.kr
