Commentary

Korean traditional music (gugak ), an established artistic genre in Korea, is not only performed but rigorously explored in university music programs, national research and performance institutions, governmental projects, and academic publications. (1) Although there are many more Korean musicians involved in Western art music than those playing Korean traditional music, Korean traditional music remains an integral part of the Korean cultural and national identity.In North America, however, the status of Korean traditional music is quite different from that in its homeland-it has traditionally been viewed as a subject for ethnomusicology, a discipline that broadly encompasses musics and musicians outside Western European civilization.10. Pansori was designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage item in 2003.For more detailed information, visit https://ich.unesco.org/en/