Speaker
Description
No matter what anyone says, Sejong the Great is clearly the king who left behind the most outstanding achievements in the 500-year history of Joseon Dynasty. Among his many achievements, the creation of Hangul is the most praiseworthy achievement in Korea's long history, but his cultural achievements also deserve great praise as well. In particular, the many musical contributions he left behind were unprecedented in Korean music history.
He established new court music institutes while improving existing several music institutes since the beginning of the founding of Joseon, adapted and institutionalized Aak (雅樂) that had been performed without a proper system in the court at the time, manufactured and distributed instruments to expand the base of music, opened the era of musical notation by inventing the music, score, and pioneered a new field of Korean court music by creating new pieces of music. In addition, he systematized numerous court ceremonies and rituals so that these musical results by him could be properly realized or utilized.
These musical accomplishments he achieved became the basic frame of reference for almost all court music-related matters of the Joseon Dynasty and continued for future generations until the early last century. Among his musical achievements, the results of adapting Aak and creating new pieces of music had enriched Korean music repertoire and became a proud musical cultural heritage that has continued to this day.
Why did he devote himself to the music business, then? How did he achieve his outstanding musical feats? What kind of spirit did he have that made it possible to create great musical achievements? Can’t we look at all aspects of his musical achievements through convergence and interaction of studies? Unlike many existing studies that mainly focused on facts about the musical achievements by Sejong the Great the purpose of this study is to examine it from the above perspectives in accordance with the purpose of this academic meeting.
