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[Inscribed in 2014 (9.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity] Nongak is a fusion performing art genre that combines a percussion ensemble (with occasional use of wind instruments), parading, dancing, drama, and acrobatic feats. It has been practiced for various purposes, such as appeasing gods, chasing evil spirits and seeking blessings, praying for a rich harvest in spring, celebrating the harvest at autumn festivals, fund-raising for community projects, and professional entertainment. Any joyful community event was never complete without uproarious music and dance performed by the local band clad in colorful costumes. The resultant ecstatic excitement (sinmyeong) is often defined as a preeminent emotional characteristic of Korean people. The music frequently uses uneven beats of complex structures like simple three-time, compound time, and simple and compound time. Small hand-held gongs and hourglass drums, with their metal and leather sounds, play the main beats, while large gongs and barrel drums create simple rhythmic accents. The small hand-held drum players focus more on dancing than playing music. Dancing includes individual skill demonstrations, choreographic formations, and streamer dances. Actors wearing masks and peculiar outfits perform funny skits. Acrobatics include dish spinning and miming antics by child dancers carried on the shoulders of adult performers. Nongak was most often performed and enjoyed by grassroots people, but there were also professional groups putting on entertainment shows. In recent years, professional repertoires have evolved into the percussion quartet “Samul Nori” and the non-verbal theatrical show “Nanta,” dramatically emphasizing the music element and thereby appealing to broader audiences at home and from abroad.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Referring to farmers’ music that has been handed down in Iksan (previously called “Iri”), Iri Nongak belongs to Honam Udo Nongak (Farmers’ Performance of the Eastern Jeolla-do). Nongak (farmers’ performance) has developed briskly in Saesil Village in Iksan. The village brought people who learned farmers’ music from experts in nearby areas like Gimje and Jeongeup and who trained a high-quality farmers’ music troupe as we see today. An Iri nongak troupe is composed of yonggi (dragon flag), nonggi (farmers’ flag), swaenap (conical wooden oboe), trumpet, samul [four percussion instruments, i.e., two kkwaenggwari (small gongs), two jing (large gongs), two buk (drums), and four janggo (hourglass-shaped drums)], beopgo (Buddhist drum), and japsaek [referring to a group composed of yangban (nobleman), daeposu (drummer), jorijung (masked clown), changbu (male clown), gaksi (young girl), and mudong (dancing boys)]. Troupe members who are called chibae or gunchong wear black vest over white jacket, white trousers, and sangmo (hat with feathers or strings attached), with bands in three colors tied around the head. Kkwaenggwari (small gong)-based rhythms include those related to ilche, ichae, samchae, oemachijilgut, pungnyugut, ochaejilgut, jwajilgut, yangsando garak, hohogut, and obangjin garak. Pangut (entertainment-oriented performance) proceeds in the order of insagut, ochaejilgut, jwajilgut, pungnyugut, yangsando, ginmaedoji (joint performance of kkwaenggwari and janggo), sambangjingut, banguljingut, hohogut, dallachigi, short maedoji, jjakdeureum, ilgwang nori, gujeong nori (individual play), and gi sseulgi. There are diverse forms of bupo nori (hat dance) performed by sangsoe (leader of the farmers’ music troupe). Well-developed janggo rhythms and dances are mixed with the music. The performance also features sogochum (small drum dances) and jinpuri march. Many rhythms are relatively slow. The music makes colorful rhythms, each played to meticulously transformed tunes. Pungnyugut and deongdeokgungi-related rhythms showcase highly sophisticated techniques. Iri Nongak is a folk art performance that has been handed down along with the village history, playing an important role as an event that provides consolation in the hard life of farmers and helps villagers get along with each other well.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Gangneung Nongak is a leading farmers’ music handed down in areas east of Taebaek Mountain Range in Gangwon-do. Also called nongsa puri (explanation of the farming process) music, the music is presumed to have been naturally made with the start of farming. A Gangneung Nongak troupe is composed of people carrying farming tools, swaenap (conical wooden oboe), kkwaenggwari (small gongs), jing (large gongs), buk (drums), janggo (hourglass-shaped drum), sogo (small drums), and beopgo (Buddhist drum), and mudong (dancing boys). Performers wear white jacket and trousers, with their bodies decorated with bands in three colors (red, blue, and yellow); dancing boys wear colorful clothes. Gangneung Nongak is performed on the following occasions: jisin bapgi (“earth spirit treading”); geollip nongak [geollippae (fund-raising troupe)’s performance]; gimmaegi nongak (performance for planting rice seedlings and weeding); jilmeokgi (party for farm laborers); geollipgut (geollippae’s shamanic performance); madanggut (courtyard ritual), etc. The foregoing events are also held in other regions, but the following are performed only in Gangneung with the accompaniment of Gangneung Nongak: dalmajigut (rite to the first full-moon), hwaetbul nori (torch play), notdari bapgi (one selected among a group of young women, who treads on their waists as they lie down), gimmaegi nongak, jilmeolki, and gil nori nongak (road performance). Gangneung Nongak plays an important role as an event that provides consolation in the hard life of farmers and helps villagers build friendship with each other.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] This is a variety of nongak, literally "farmers' music," that has been transmitted in Binnae Village in Gimcheon City, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. It belongs to the nongak tradition of the inland region of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. The nongak practice in Binnae Village is distinguished from other local farmers' music traditions by the magnificent sounds of large barrel drums played with both hands and by the configurations players create during pan gut (entertainment-centered shows) that mimic the training of Joseon-era soldiers.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Farm music performed when farmers are working while helping each other, by forming a cooperative farming team, in a broad sense, refers to music performed when people march, work, hold ceremonies, and enjoy games while beating small gongs, gongs, hourglass drums, and drums. The performers are called gut, maegu, pungjang, geumgo, or chwigun. All performers play musical instruments while wearing hats. In Pangut (entertainment-oriented performance), the chaesangmo game makes a fine show. On the other hand, paljinhaesikjingut, a military game, looks unique. Its beat is fast, powerful, and exciting. Jinju Samcheonpo Nongak, a successor of pangut, has higher artistic value. In Paljinbeop, Beokku Nori, sangsoe (leader of the farmers’ music troupe), and Mudong Nori (kids sing and dance), individual skills are excellent.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Gurye Jansu Nongak refers to farmers’ music that has been handed down in Sinchon Village, Sinwol-ri, Gurye-eup, Gurye-gun. It contains the characteristics of Honam Jwado Nongak (Farmers’ Performance of the Western Jeolla-do). Basically, local farmers’ music is composed of those performed on the following occasions: dangsan jemangut (rite to village guardians), madang bapgi (treading on the courtyard), and pangut (entertainment-oriented performance). As for dangsan jemangut, it is performed at shrines for village guardians in the morning. After the rite is finished, the troupe pays a visit to each house to perform madang bapgi followed by pangut, with all villagers taking part. Members of the local farmers’ music troupe are villagers. The performance became famous in nearby areas, including Suncheon and Namwon. Nongak wichin gyechick and Nongak chuichingye gyejaesujibu, which were drawn up from 1954, are documents concerning the rules of the troupe and its financial status.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Namwon Nongak refers to a variation of nongak being transmitted in the Ongjeong-ri neighborhood of Namwon-si City, Jeollabuk-do Province. It shares musical and performance characteristics with other forms of nongak transmitted in the eastern portion of the Jeolla region. This tradition can be categorized as a form of community ritual (mageul gut) which is generally composed of a rite for community guardians, door-to-door visits to individual households, and pan gut entertainment shows. It is also a form of donation-gathering rite (geollip gut). Namwon Nongak is known for its unique composition of shows in the latter part of the pan gut. Practitioners of Namwon Nongak are still crafting their own budeul sangmo, a type of headgear characterized by a tuft of soft feathers on top that is exclusive to the eastern Jeolla nogak tradition.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] As nongak (farmers’ music) that has been handed down in Pilbong, Imsil, Imsil Pilbong Nongak belongs to Honam Jwado Nongak (Farmers’ Performance of the Western Jeolla-do). Simple farmers’ music such as that performed on occasions like dangsangut (rite to village guardian) or madang bapgi (treading on the courtyard) had been handed down in this village. The music is said to have become sophisticated around 1920 when the villagers started learning the performing skills from Park Hak-sam, who served as sangsoe (leader of a farmers’ music troupe). The members of a farmer’s music troupe wear white jacket and trousers, with blue vest over the jacket and bands in three colors tied to the head. As for the headgear, only the soejabi (gong player) wears sangmo (hat with feathers or strings attached); others wear gokkal (conical hat). A farmer’s music troupe is composed of yonggi (dragon flag), nonggi (farmers’ flag), long soenabal (trumpet), samul [four percussion instruments, i.e., two kkwaenggwari (small gongs), two jing (large gongs), two buk (drums), and four janggo (hourglass-shaped drums)], beopgo (Buddhist drum), japsaek [referring to a group composed of yangban (nobleman), daeposu (drummer), jorijung (masked clown), changbu (male clown), gaksi (young girl), hwadong (young girl) and mudong (dancing boys)]. The local farmers’ music has many versions according to different occasions: maegut (village ritual held on New Year's Eve on the lunar calendar), madang bapgi, dangsanjegut (rite to village guardians), duregut (performance for villagers’ unity), and pangut (entertainment-oriented performance). Among them, Pangut showcases the best artistic quality. The Yeongsan rhythms contained in the local farmer’s music in Imsil are slow with have many variations, such as gajin yeongsan, dadeuraegi yeongsan, mijigi yeongsan, jaeneomgi yeongsan, gunyeong nori yeongsan, etc. The local farmer’s music in Pilbong, Imsil features clear-cut rhythms of kkwaenggwari (small gongs), powerful/gallant rhythms, and emphasis on teamwork rather than individuals’ skills.