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- Dynamic Korea and Rhythmic Form
South Korean percussion genre samul nori goes global
Winner of the the 2019 Béla Bartók Award for Outstanding Ethnomusicology
The South Korean percussion genre, samul nori, is a world phenomenon whose rhythmic form is the key to its popularity and mobility. Based on both ethnographic research and close formal analysis, author Katherine In-Young Lee focuses on the kinetic experience of samul nori, drawing out the concept of dynamism to show its historical, philosophical, and pedagogical dimensions. Breaking with traditional approaches to the study of world music that privilege political, economic, institutional, or ideological analytical frameworks, Lee argues that because rhythmic forms are experienced on a somatic level, they swiftly move beyond national boundaries and provide sites for cross-cultural interaction.
List of Figures and Tables
Notes on Translation and Romanization
Introduction
1. Space and the Big Bang
2. The Dynamics of Rhythmic Form
3. Dynamic Korea and Samul nori
4. Global Encounters with Samul nori
5. Transnational Samul nori and the Politics of Place
Epilogue
Appendix 1. Pinari—English translation
Appendix 2. SamulNori: "Tradition Meets the Present"
Bibliography
Index-Glossary
KATHERINE IN-YOUNG LEE is assistant professor of ethnomusicology at UCLA and her work has appeared in Journal of Korean Studies, Ethnomusicology, and Journal of Korean Traditional Performing Arts.
"Lee demonstrates how the focus on form contributed to the development of samul nori into one of Korea's key cultural exports. For those interested in Korean music, contemporary Korean culture, and nation building, this is a must-read."
~Roald Maliangkay, author of Broken Voices: Postcolonial Entanglements and the Preservation of Korea's Central Folksong Traditions
"This book is a timely and sorely needed contribution to ongoing intellectual debates within ethnomusicology and world music studies. Lee's investment in musical form as both a physical force and explanatory object reveals processes and motivations not solely accessible by so-called cultural or extra-musical explanations."
~Nathan Hesselink, professor of ethnomusicology, University of British Columbia
"Lee demonstrates how the focus on form contributed to the development of samul nori into one of Korea's key cultural exports. For those interested in Korean music, contemporary Korean culture, and nation building, this is a must-read."
~Roald Maliangkay, author of Broken Voices: Postcolonial Entanglements and the Preservation of Korea's Central Folksong Traditions
"Katherine In-Young Lee's Dynamic Korea and Rhythmic Form begins its journey with a critique of how only a few scholars delve into the "musical reasons as to why certain musical practices move with apparent ease" (3). Her question is closely linked with the raison d'être of the field of ethnomusicology today—what distinctive aspects does music have when it departs from its cultural roots, transcends political and physical boundaries, transforms its meanings and forms during this journey, and becomes a social process that produces a..."
~The Journal of Korean Studies
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