Korean intangible heritage performances in global spotlight

전 세계적 주목 이끈 'K-무형유산 페스티벌'

The rise of K-pop has brought attention to other kinds of Korean music lately.
The boyband BTS included some traditional music in one of their videos, which brought attention to a form of martial music, for example.
To celebrate these art forms, and some modern takes on them, a festival was going to be held in Mexico this summer, but because of the pandemic, it was held this past week in the South Korean city of Jeonju.
Our Jang Tae-hyun went to check it out and sent this report.
The sound of the Korean folk song Arirang is echoing around Jeonju in the Jeollabuk-do Province.
The National Intangible Heritage Center held the "K-Intangible Heritage Festival" from August 13 to 15.
Hundreds of people enjoyed the traditional Korean performance, free of charge.
"We are trying to show a performance that combines both Korean traditional performance and modernized music."
The festival was supposed to be held in Mexico this year,... but was held in Korea instead, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(STAND-UP) ed. Steve
Intangible Korean heritage received global attention when K-pop band BTS included traditional Korean performances in their recent music video.
The performance starts with Daechwita - a type of military music that uses wind and percussion instruments and is often played while marching.
The synchronized Drum Dance mesmerized visitors, and the Mask Dance caught their attention, especially those who came from abroad.
Buchaechum is a graceful Korean traditional fan dance created by dancer Kim Baek-bong, who combined Korean shamanic ritual dances with traditional Joseon folk dances.
The dancers use large fans to form creations that look like birds, flowers and dragons.
"I liked the mask the most because I experienced it this morning and it was really difficult to do. It was really heavy. The mask dance. They were performing amazingly."
"The girls dancing with the fans is one of the most beautiful. All synchronized and pretty beautiful."
The show is not over yet,... Samulnori kicks off the evening performances.
This performance originated from farmers who would come together and play the drums for recreational purposes after a tough day in the field.
They perform a stunning technique that surprises viewers.
Some artists even mixed traditional and modern music.
The 'Seodo Band' is a leading group in a new genre called Joseon-Pop.
They have combined Gugak Korean classical music with trendy pop.
The show ends with 'Barber and EDM' which adds traditional music to EDM beats.
The festival followed COVID-19 prevention guidelines such as wearing face masks, registering on the visitors' log and sitting apart from others.
Jang Tae-hyun, Arirang News, Jeonju.