Korean styles of music

''''''' () is a Korean genre of musical storytelling performed by a singer and a drummer. The term ' is a compounds of the Korean words and , the latter of which means "sound." However, pan has multiple meanings, and scholars disagree on which was the intended meaning when the term was coined. One meaning is "a situation where many people are gathered." Another meaning is "a song composed of varying tones."

Gagok () is a genre of traditional Korean vocal music, derived from jeong-ak, for mixed female and male voices. Its origins date back to the sijo sung poetry enjoyed by the aristocracy in the Goryeo period (10th-14th century). The genre evolved over time, reaching its current form (sakdaeyeop) in the late Joseon dynasty. Slower styles, such as mandaeyeop and jungdaeyeop have now disappeared. Gagok is considered one of the most refined forms of Korean court music and was designated a national cultural heritage in the 1960s and an UNESCO intangible heritage in 2010.

music genre

Aak (; ) is a genre of Korean court music. It is an imported form of the Chinese court music yayue, and means "elegant music". Aak was performed almost exclusively in state sacrificial rites, and in the present day it is performed in certain Confucian ceremonies.

Jeongak (lit. "proper music") is a classical genre of Korean traditional music, in contrast with minsogak or Korean traditional folk music. The genre has traditionally been associated with the nobility and upper classes.

Sinawi, sometimes spelled shinawi, is a traditional Korean music. It is performed improvisationally by a musical ensemble, and traditionally accompanies the rites of Korean shamanism. The style first emerged in the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, but is now widespread. The traditional sinawi ensemble followed the principle of sam-hyeon-yuk-gak (三絃六角), with two flutes, a haegeum, a daegeum, a janggu hourglass-drum, and a large buk drum. However, today other traditional Korean instruments such as the gayageum and geomungo are also often included.

Hyangak () is a traditional form of Korean court music with origins in the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC – 668 AD). It is often accompanied by traditional folk dances of Korea, known as hyangak jeongjae. These dances are performed in front of audiences—as opposed to the square dance more familiar to Westerners, which is primarily for the participants' enjoyment.

Dangak () is a genre of traditional Korean court music. The name means "Tang music", and the style was first adapted from Tang Dynasty Chinese music during the Unified Silla period in the late first millennium. It was continued through the Goryeo (918–1392) and Joseon (1392–1910) dynasties, when, along with hyangak and aak it was one of the three approved genres of court music. Dangak performances were accompanied by Tang-style dances known as dangak jeongjae.