2011 EPIK Episode 1
Written by: Jennifer Arzadon Cheongju Technical High School
The most impressive moment that has happened to me at my school would have to be when I accidentally joined the samul nori teacher’s group. I was invited to be a spectator at a samul nori practice session during lunchtime. The moment I entered their practice room, a janggu was placed in front of me and I was shown how to beat the drum-like instrument. Samul nori is the Korean traditional percussion music. The word samul means "four objects" and nori means "play" which is performed with four traditional Korean musical instruments: kkwaenggwari (a small gong), jing (a larger gong), janggu (an hourglass-shaped drum), and buk (a barrel drum similar to the bass drum). The traditional Korean instruments are called pungmul. Every Monday during lunchtime is our regular practices. Our leader kindly gave me my own gungchae and yeolchae so I can practice playing janggu on my own. One month later, we were told that the samul nori team was to perform for the official opening of the school’s new building. The week before the performance, we met and practiced every day during lunch along with the students who were going to perform with us. The day finally came for our first performance and I was pretty nervous. We got dressed in the traditional samul nori outfits and practiced one last time before heading out. The performance went great. We performed in front and all around the building to bless, to ensure good fortune and of course to celebrate. After the performance I was greeted and congratulated by a lot of new faces. My school has over 100 teachers and I met a lot of them for the first time that day. Since performing that day, I have never felt more part of the school than before. During these practices, I was able to get to know some of the teachers whom I probably would not have talked to otherwise because of the language barrier. Through music, we were able to share a common bond, no words necessary. They helped me learn how to read the Korean music notes as well as common phrases used when playing instruments. I learned a lot from these practices, not only with music but also about myself. I find it a little odd and surprising that the first instrument I would ever learn to play would be taught to me in another country. I’m always so impressed at how much the teachers are so willing to teach me new beats and new songs to play. There are even talks of having me play a 10minute piece alone next semester! I’m very proud and honored to be a part of this school and to be part of the 2011 EPIK Episode 2 samul nori team.
2011 EPIK Episode 3