Among Korea’s cultural heritage items is the technique of making janggo (hourglass-shaped drum).
Janggo is a traditional percussion instrument with a hand-beating drum on the left and a stick-beating drum on the right linked by tension ropes, with a concave box between them.
In the period of Koguryo (277 BC-AD 668), janggo was first called yogo as the instrumentalist fixed it at his or her waist. Similar to what is now janggo in appearance, it is depicted in the contemporary mural tombs.
Yogo was later remodelled and renamed janggo as it is now.
Janggo means a long drum or a drum which is beaten with a stick.
In the latter half of the feudal Joson dynasty (1392-1910), janggo was used in folk instrumental musical performances such as Samhyonryukkak and peasant music, and its playing techniques were further developed and refined.
The musical instrument plays a pivotal role in retaining the traditional tunes of the Korean nation and it is well known to the world for its unique and deep sound.
It consists of a sound box and drumhead.
The sound box is divided into a stick-beating drum and a hand-beating drum, and the drumhead into those for stick-beating and hand-beating, which are different in size.
The sound box is made of paulownia, and drumhead of roe deer or dog hide.
The sound box is made in the order of wood cutting, assembly of mosaics, face cutting, sound box fitting, grinding and painting. And the drumhead is made in the order of skin cutting and tightening of tension ropes, buckles and pegs.
The sound box and drumhead are assembled by using tension ropes, rings and buckles.
Janggo , which is made with a mixture of traditional manufacturing methods and processing techniques, can freely produce a variety of tunes and timbres.
It contributes to raising the level of representation of national instrument ensemble and enlivening the cultural and emotional life of the people, while adding to national flavour.
Jo Il Gyong, section chief of the Korea National Heritage Preservation Agency
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