Kim Kook Jin’s the Pieces of Korean Melody for Piano: An Analysis of Pedagogical Elements and Korean Folk Traditions

In this era of increased globalization, our education system is actively embracing multiculturalism, with educators incorporating diverse perspectives into their classrooms. A noticeable trend among music educators is the introduction of compositions by non-white male composers at conferences and in educational publications. In fact, we can now find more pedagogical pieces featuring distinctive musical languages and cultural influences, marking a shift from the predominantly European tradition seen in the past. However, there remains a limited number of pedagogical pieces that display the musical cultures of Asian countries. Particularly in Korea, it is extremely difficult to find compositions with Korean musical language. As a result, this dissertation's purpose is to shed light on one of the rare Korean pedagogical composers, Kim Kook Jin. His life's dedication to imparting the beauty of Korean traditional music to young musicians is exemplified through one of his notable pedagogical collections, The Pieces of Korean Melody for Piano, which incorporates distinctive elements from Korean traditional music. This dissertation includes five chapters, a bibliography, and appendices. The first chapter will provide an overview of this study by including a brief history of western (piano) music history in Korea, Korean contemporary composers, need and purpose of the study, related literature, limitations, and design of the study. Chapter two will focus on unique traits of traditional Korean music, and the third chapter will introduce Kook Jin Kim as a composer and explore his musical journey and works. Chapter four and five will consist of theoretical analysis, assessment of pedagogical challenges, leveling of the 25 pieces in Kim’s collection for what Jane Magrath’s and RCM grading systems were used as references, and comparisons of works from the standard repertoire that have similar characteristics or challenges. The final chapter will conclude the discussion and state possibilities for further research, and the appendices will contain the following: popular rhythmic patterns or Jangdans in Korean folk music, charts of the 25 pieces by level, characteristics, and repeated Korean rhythmic patterns used in each piece, and complete lists of Kim's piano solo and ensemble works.