A Few Stories You Need to Know Before Meeting Korean Jazz

Victor M. K. Kye (director of the Jarasum Jazz Festival)

1. The history of Korean jazz began in the 1920s.

In 1926, Korea’s first jazz band called “Korean Jazz Band” was formed and began to perform. Later on, in the 1930s, several Korean musicians released albums with tracks in the style of jazz. Such pieces wouldn’t be regarded as a pure form of jazz but at that time in Korea, “jazz” also referred to different styles of Western music: swing, jazz, blues and music performed by big bands.

Seung-hee Choi, A Garden in Italy(1936)1)	Nan-young Lee, Blue dream of tea room(1939)2)	In-su Nam, Flowery Street of Jazz(1939)3)	eong-gu Kim, Sing on, Saxophone (1940) Jung-gu Kim(1940)4)

2. It was from the 1950s that jazz started to be played in earnest in Korea.

As the US army was stationed in Korea after World War II, jazz started to be performed in earnest in the country. The Eighth United States Army in Seoul and US military bases in Osan, Pyeongtaek and other cities had clubs for American soldiers. These clubs often presented jazz performances which also led Korean musicians to play jazz. Famous American jazz musicians including Jack Teagarden and Nat King Cole also came to Korea to perform. In particular, Nat King Cole played the Korean folk song “Arirang” and the recording of his performance of that time still remains today.

Sang-guk Kim, A Sun will Shine into a Mouse Hole(1965)5)	Nat King Cole, Arirang(1964)6)	Recording of a Concert by Eom Tommy’s Octet(1967)7)	Seong-yeon Park and Jazz At the Janus, Wet Fog Sung-yeon Park, Wet Fog8)

3. Korea’s first jazz club was opened in 1976 and the country currently has about 40 jazz clubs.

In 1976, Chinese-American Myeong-Deok Ma opened the jazz club “All That Jazz” in the Itaewon area in Seoul. In the club, he played music from high-quality jazz albums he had brought from the US. He also gave performers opportunities to play traditional bebop jazz. In 1978, a Korean woman jazz singer Seong-yeon Park opened a jazz club called “Janus.” She then formed a group of jazz performers for the club; they performed their new songs every month and released albums. Both clubs still attract many jazz lovers, thus continuing their success. Korea has about 40 jazz clubs nationwide. Considering the size of the country’s jazz market, the number is not small at all. That is because in the 21st century, Koreans came to regard jazz not as music but as a culture for a specific group of people.

4. It was from the 1990s that jazz began to be loved by Korea’s general public.

Musicals and films began to set standards for well-known styles of jazz, In the same vein, TV series and films contributed to the popularization of jazz in Korea. The most representative examples are the film (with music by Kenny G) and Korean TV series . Meanwhile, certain TV series had scenes of those from rich families drinking wine and playing the saxophone. So this also led many Koreans to regard jazz as a “luxury” genre that is enjoyed only by a certain class of people.

TV series 9)	Highlights of the Jarasum Jazz Festival10)

5. Korea’s largest music festivals are jazz festivals.

The Muju International Jazz Festival (1997) and Uljin Jazz Festival (1998) were Korea’s first jazz festivals but unfortunately, they didn’t continue. From the 2000s, Korea began to organize many music festivals. Among them, large-scale, outdoor jazz festivals were loved by many visitors. In particular, the Jarasum Jazz Festival (launched in 2004) and Seoul Jazz Festival (launched in 2007 and organized in an indoor space until 2010) have attracted tens of thousands of visitors annually. It doesn’t mean the quantitative growth of the Korean jazz market. Rather than that, it means that music festivals have become one of major weekend leisure activities for Korea’s general public. Nevertheless, considering the fact that the market share of jazz was less than 3% in the US in 2003, Korea’s boom in jazz festivals is quite remarkable. To be more specific, the Jarasum Jazz Festival, which was selected by Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as one of Korea’s representative festivals, is now known as the largest outdoor jazz festival in Asia. As of 2021, Korea has about 20 jazz festivals which vary in size.

6. In Korea, you can study jazz at universities with the department of “applied music.”

When it comes to Korean universities, you can study music genres other than classical music and traditional Korean music mostly at the department of “applied music.” Today, about 100 Korean universities teach applied music. This number is much larger than that of those teaching classical music and traditional Korean music. Every year, about 2,700 students enter the univerisities offering programs of applied music. The entrance exam of the universities teaching applied music basically includes a jazz performance. So everyone preparing for the exam practices jazz. But unfortunately, only a few of those majoring in applied music continue to be professional jazz performers.

7. Korean jazz musicians have become active in the international jazz scene as well.

Korean musicians have been loved not only in Korea but also in the international jazz market. Youn-sun Nah has grown into one of the world’s greatest jazz vocalists. Cellist Ok-kyung Lee has been recognized as a major performer in New York’s free jazz scene. There are also other young performers who have been active in their respective local areas: Ji-hye Lee in New York (composition / big band), Sun-mi Hong in the Netherlands (drum), Gee-hye Lee in Germany (piano) and Dae-uk Heo in France (piano). Sujin Suh (drum) performs in Korea and in 2020, she was invited to Jazzahead, the world’s largest jazz market, thus unveiling the value of her music in the overseas market.

Youn-Sun Nah’s performance at the Théâtre du Châtelet in France11)	Sun-mi Hong, North Sea Jazz Festival12)

8. Today in Korea, jazz is developing into different forms in combination with traditional music.

These days, Korean jazz has found its vigor again, through its collaboration with traditional Korean music. For example, jazz band “Prelude” and Korean folk singer Hee-moon Lee have collaborated to produce “Korean Man,” which has been invited by international festivals ceaselessly. Another example is Black String. The group has performers of traditional Korean music and jazz and they create new music based on improvisation. They released three albums in a row with ACT, one of Europe’s greatest jazz labels. As these examples illustrate, Korea jazz is securing its space in the global market in its own way. The biggest reason why the music combining Korean jazz and tradition has been able to draw attention in the global market would definitely be the well-organized support system of relevant Korean institutions: Arts Council Korea (www.arko.or.kr), Korea Arts Management Service (www.gokams.or.kr), Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation (www.kotpa.org) and Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (www.kofice.or.kr). These institutions support artists throughout the process of their overseas performance: creation, demonstration, production / distribution of promotional materials and overseas performance. In this way, the institutions enable diverse forms of new Korean music to be introduced on the global scene.

Prelude+NomNom+Hee-moon Lee, Difficult Love (Korean folk song) KBS13)	Black String, Seven Beats (traditional Korean rhythm)14)
* You can find out about other diverse pieces of music combining jazz and traditional Korean music on the YouTube channels of the Korea Arts Management Service and Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation.

*References for the history of Korean jazz are “Rediscovery of Korean Jazz Albums” and “History of Korean Pop Music Albums” by Seong-geon Park.

1) Seung-hee Choi, YouTube, 2019. 6. 26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idAUyr1f19E

2) sonicscape, “Sonicscape, Nan-young Lee”, YouTube, 2012. 11. 9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN-M3H4wcnA

3) Various Artists - Topic, “째즈의 꼿거리”, YouTube, 2017. 12. 12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-woK-lr-PNk

4) Jung-gu Kim, “우러라 쌕스폰‘‘, Youtube, 2019. 7. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm066gOCYAc

5) Sang-guk Kim, “쥐구멍에도 볕들날있다”, Youtube, 2016. 12. 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAArhYqAS-w

6) hearkoreaTV”, YouTube, 2018. 8. 20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DCPhieHD7U

7) anthdb45, “Eom Tommy Octet”, YouTube, 007. 11. 8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPa5MKDnOkw

8) Sung-yeon Park, Wet Fog, YouTube, 2017. 1. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ulGkBWvRJ8

9) “All My Love For You, EP04, #07”, YouTube, 2012. 12. 10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxKmdeNi8zA&t=454s

10) Jarasum Jazz, “11th Jarasum Int’l Jazz Festival 2014 - Highlight movie [full ver.]”, YouTube, 2015. 1. 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXasGqLvy7I

11) SYNONYM86, “Youn Sun Nah Quartet au Théâtre du Châtelet”, Youtube, 2016. 10. 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJIYPtsxAsI

12) Sun-Mi Hong, “Sun-Mi Hong Quintet - Time Sketch (Live at North Sea Jazz Festival)”, Youtube, 2019. 1. 20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfDMTvYTVg4

13) KBS, Open Concert.20190310,”, YouTube, 2020. 1. 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxgr7pDrvi4

14) WOMEX, “Black String - Seven Beats - Live at WOMEX 16”, YouTube, 2016. 10. 21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBsvnvfUab8