Nonprofit Organization and the Transmission of Tradition and Cultural Change: Amateur Korean Percussion Troupes in South Korea Open Access

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Nonprofit Organization and the Transmission of Tradition and Cultural Change:
Amateur Korean Percussion Troupes in South Korea
In this project, I examine the role of non-profit music organizations in Seoul, South
Korea in shaping Korean cultural identities. I focus specifically on amateur Korean
traditional percussion groups to explore how their musical and organizational practices
contribute to the development of the samul nori percussion genre since the late 1970s.
Based on the rural, outdoor practices of nongak, samul nori developed as an urbanized,
indoor tradition for the concert-stage. Although its history is relatively recent compared to
other "traditional" Korean music, the growth of the music itself reveals a chronological story
about Korea within the contemporary period. From the 1980s onwards, many new
percussion groups were formed to imitate and build on what that original group, Samul-nori,
had done, that is, to revive, transform, and reinvent Korean cultural traditions through
percussion music.
My project is a study of amateur, non-profit groups that perform the core repertoire
of samul nori. These groups do not sustain themselves with income earned through
performances. In fact, members of these avocational groups pay to create opportunities to
perform. Unlike groups that musically expand tradition with the use of newly-created
drums, different instrumentation, and new repertoire, avocational percussion groups focus on
being accomplished in core repertoires and transforming the genre within a traditional
framework. What are their motivations for performing Korean percussion music the way
they do? What are the musical parameters of "tradition" that shape their practices? How
does their organizational structure intersect with their musical objectives? Using Korean
percussion music as a case study, I posit that non-profit, amateur music organizations in
Korea creates a context in which core values of Korean cultural traditions are expressed and
perpetuated through the intersection of musical learning, repertoire choices, and performance,
and the structures and processes of the organization.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations ………………………………………………………………………….ix
Introduction: An Ethnomusicological Study of Samul Nori………………..………………..1
Chapter
1. Samul Nori Music and the Concept of National Culture………………………….....7
2. Amateur Nonprofit Music Organizations…………………………………………....14
3. Heung SaRang - An Amateur and Nonprofit Samul Nori Organization……………29
4. Amateur Samul Nori Music Organizations and the Transmission of Music,
Tradition and Culture ………………………………………………………….….…39
Conclusion…….……………………………………………………………………………...53
Glossary………………………………………………………………………………………56
Bibliography……...……….………………………………………………………………….57

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page
1. Map showing regional boundaries of South Korea………………………………1
2. Profit-Nonprofit and Amateur-Professional Music
Organizations……………………………………………………………….…….15
3. Characteristics of Amateur and Professional Organizations……………………..17
4. Two Types of Motivations in Profit Organizations………………………………19
5. Original Samul-nori group in 1978………….…………………………………...21
6. Samul-nori Hanullim & Kim Duk Soo at Harvard University in
2011…………………………………………………………………………..…...21
7. Organizational Culture in Profit and Nonprofit Music Organizations…………...26
8. Members of Heung SaRang distributing gifts for the seniors at the concert…..…30
9. Heung SaRang's performance at a community service event ………………........31
10. Monthly Budget and Expense Statement of Heung SaRang………………..…....33
11. Studio of Heung SaRang………………………………………………………....34
12. Organizational Chart of Heung SaRang……………………………………….....37
13. Comparison in Performances of Gil-Goonak………………………………..…...40
14. Main Karak on Kkwaenggwari………………………………………………......41
15. Main Karak on Ching…………………………………………………………....42

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Music
Degree	BBA
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Business Administration, General Music
Keyword	Amateur Non-profit Music Samul Nori
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Lee, Tong-Soon, Emory University
Committee Members	Yandle, Tracy, Emory University Bertrand, Lynn Wood, Emory University

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