Korea''s traditional instrument geomungo along with gayageum are the representative instruments of Korean classical music, and music played by these instruments have been loved as the music for the educated and people of character for a very long time. Geomungo has always been quiet and a step behind gayageum in terms of improvements and the power to grab the attention of foreigners, but it is gradually moving its way up with its various new attempts and musical performances. I have met the Geomungo Factory, who like its name is simultaneously pursuing breakaway from traditions through active and radical improvements of the geomungo and searching the norm through the restoration of traditions.

Q: I would like to first hear the introduction to how the Geomungo Factory was formed. And what is the meaning of the name?

A: It was first formed by young Korean classical musicians in their 20s in 2007. The name ''Geomungo Factory'' reflects our desire to create various aspects of music such as instruments, music, and stories. The group was started with seven members originally, but currently it consists of five members. However, new project members join in every time we have new projects.

Q: The Geomungo Factory, like its name suggests, have been improving and developing various geomungos. Why did you feel the need to improve the instruments and could you introduce some of the improved instruments?

A: We had already cut the geomungo even before we came out with the name ''Geomungo Factory''. We sometimes used the geomungo with reduced strings from the 10 stringed geomungo which was made by geomungo player and professor Jae Wha LEE at Chugye University for the Arts. We also did various experiments with classical instrument and guitar manufacturers as well. Among these, the xylophone geomungo can said to be purely the work of Geomungo Factory. As a result, we are using 5 types of improved geomungos. These are cello geomungo, xylophone geomungo, electric geomungo, 6 and 9 stringed Damhyeon-geum. We call it Damhyeon-geum because you can play it by strapping the instrument on the shoulder (''Dam'' means to ''strap'' in Chinese character). We wanted to show a wide appeal of the geomungo, and the desire to produce various sounds led to the improvements of the geomungos.

Q: Were there any difficulties in improving the instruments?

A: We have spent our 20s with the Geomungo Factory. We could''ve been too young or shortsighted but we dared to cut the instrument, and because of this, we weren''t seen in a good light at the time. Since long ago, geomungo has been revered as the best instrument by classical scholars with education and virtue because the geomungo has a deep and solemn sound. Because we were seen to have damaged such instrument, we had to go through emotionally tough times of criticisms. Maybe the attempt was made too early, but mostly we were saddened because people didn''t understand our love for the geomungo. Our music always had its beginning start from the tradition. Because we cut the instrument, we are faced with the responsibility from this action and have to go through more contemplation. There have been many issues that have been raised and many criticisms from people, but we also had that much time of contemplation. We needed prepare so much more to try something new, and we feel that sense of duty.

Radiating the Charm of Geomungo through the Story

Q: You have released two formal albums so far. The first album, surprisingly, addressed the restoration of traditional music, and the second was purely creative music. What was it that you try to show through these albums?

A: Although we started with a cut geomungo, the foundation and starting point of the Geomungo Factory was in tradition. At the time, I was hurting inside because I looked as if I had turned my back on traditional music. I needed to improve the instruments in order to try new things, and I wanted to do two things at once of adhering to the tradition and improving the instrument. I think the role of a Korean classical musician and our role as a musical team is different. The second album 《METAMORPHOSIS》 can said to have opened the doors to the role of the Geomungo Factory. And the first album 《Unforgettable Freat Masters of Geomungo Sanjo》 is the outcome of our thought and effort as we felt the need to explore our traditions as Korean traditional musicians. As a second restoration project, we did restoration works of Sinawui (Korean shaman music that came to be in the form of instrumental ensemble). I think through this restoration project, we were able to have the opportunity to reset our attitude toward our tradition.

Q: What is the musical direction of the Geomungo Factory?

A: I think there are two kinds of views of the outside for the Geomungo Factory. I think they see traditional and modern aspects coexisting, and they seem to feel empathy for the creative aspects of the geomungo combined in that environment. On the other hand, the music of the Geomungo Factory was rather gloomy and dark. It was black or red in terms of color, and carried a strong sense of the extreme. There were even times in the past performances when we performed on the stage dressed in black. But, I do have plans to move away from these moods and present a little brighter colors in the future.

We don''t have a lot of performances. That''s because we want to perform happy music. I believe reaching out to the audience with the music that the musician wants to perform in his/her perspective is the music that shows the most sincerity for the musician and the audience. I want to perform music that accepts the music pursued by each musician into a team play, where individuals become the team and the team becomes each individual. Though it hasn''t been long since musicians write their own music in the Korean classical music scene, I want my team to be a successful team where the members themselves compose and play music like a team of singer-songwriters.

I plan to utilize any instrument that can add to the appeal of the geomungo. I was introduced to the traditional African percussion instrument, Cajon, during my visit to Brazil''s Mercado Cultural da Bahia in 2010. I want to integrate various percussion instruments as geomungo has percussion-like characteristics. Collaboration works with foreign countries, especially, need full understanding of their instruments and music. Even before the actual collaboration work in Brazil, a lot of time was required for understanding the diverse appeal of the geomungo, and especially the fact that the geomungo''s sound has the effect of harmonizing the positive and the negative.

Q: The performances of the Geomungo Factory have many musical theatre forms rather than concert.

A: One of the unique characteristics of the Geomungo Factory is that there is a story in the music. The first work Gwe-dam was created based on the tale of geomungo. It is a creative musical theatre where music, singing, and story are combined. The second work Beautiful Woman is a creative theatre that is based on setting the renowned guitarist Jung Hyun SHIN as a master of geomungo. All the stories have geomungo in the center, and it is our goal to show the attractiveness of the geomungo based on these stories. I feel that the member''s composing skills and work methods are being developed within the story-making process.

Q: What are your plans for 2012?

A: There seems to be a big change in the audiences'' reaction in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, there were a lot of efforts for the preparation of Changdeokgung performance as a part of an exchange program of world music professionals (Journey to Korean Music 2011) See related article from theApro. We received good reviews as much as we had worked for. I think we made a good impression on many overseas programmers through the 2011 Performing Arts Market in Seoul (PAMS) . Currently there are talks about our first European tour which is planned to start in November of this year. Collaborative works with Slovenian and Polish jazz teams are also being planned. In addition to international activities, a large-scaled performance is planned with KBS Traditional Music Orchestra in Korea, and individual member''s performances and solo albums are also in plan. I believe this year is going to be a new starting point for the Geomungo Factory in many respects.