Kim Wun-ran김운란 was an ajaeng musician in the late Joseon period. He was originally a yangban양반, a member of the gentry, who passed the national exam for government posts and studied at Sungkyunkwan, the highest educational institution in Joseon. But he lost his vision after suffering from eye disease. He could no longer study or work in the government, a tremendous hardship for such a young man with a promising future. Fortunately, he found solace in ajaeng. His long and deep suffering enabled him to hone his ajaeng-playing skill, ultimately making him so good at the instrument that he nearly achieved divine status. There was an anecdote about how good he was at playing the ajaeng. One day, he was traveling with his beloved ajaeng when he stopped for a break at an old, abandoned shrine. He thought it was a good idea to practice some pieces while resting. The sound he made was beautiful yet very melancholy. Before long, he heard someone sobbing in the shrine, which soon turned into a loud wail. Who could be crying in an empty shrine? Was it a human being or a ghost? Let’s think about that question while we listen to “Jungmori” from Ajaeng Sanjo. Ajaeng virtuoso Kim Young-gil plays the piece.

Jungmori from Ajaeng Sanjo/ Ajaeng by Kim Young-gil

Many people confuse ajaeng from haegeum. A haegeum features a round body with a long neck made with bamboo. Two strings are stretched along the neck and a bow made with horsehair is pulled across the strings to make a sound. The instrument is small and lightweight to make it quite portable, and able to make different tones and pitches, which made it easy for traveling clowns and bands players to carry it and perform with it. On the other hand, ajaeng seems to resemble the gayageum or geomungo, but ajaeng is a lot larger than either one. The body is made with royal foxglove tree and features seven to ten very thick strings, and the bow made with a forsythia branch is run across the strings. The ajaeng pitch is quite low and its vibration robust, thus this Korean instrument is often compared to cello. However, it was difficult to play elaborate or fast pieces since the strings were quite thick and the wooden bow generated rather a rough sound. So, when one needs to play a freestyle sanjo or sinawi piece with a quick tempo and varied pitches, traditional musicians often play a smaller version called “sanjo ajaeng”. Also, instead of silk strings used in the traditional ajaeng, the sanjo ajaeng, also called the “metal ajaeng,” features metal strings which are played in the way one plays the gayageum – by plucking the strings with one’s fingers instead of running a bow across them. Kim Young-gil’s “Ajaeng Sanjo’s Jungmori” you heard earlier in the program featured the traditional ajaeng just like the one Kim Wun-ran probably had used. Next piece is played with a metal ajaeng. Here’s ajaeng virtuoso Shin Hyun-shik playing Dongsalpuri and Hwimori from Cheolajaeng Sanjo.

Dongsalpuri & Hwimori/ Ajaeng by Shin Hyun-shik

Today’s last ajaeng piece is a female gagok song titled “Ilgagi일각이” or “Fifteen Minutes.” Here one gak is equal to 15 minutes. Today’s version is a rearrangement of the old classic by ajaeng musician Jin Min-jin. The words to the song describe a woman’s longing for her love. The song begins, “One gak feels like three autumns. So how many autumns would ten days make?” You can probably imagine how much this woman misses her loved one who had left more than ten days ago. The high tone of a female singer and the low resonance of the ajaeng go together very well. Let’s conclude this week’s Sounds of Korea with Park Jin-hui singing “Ilgagi” to the ajaeng accompaniment of Jin Min-jin.

Ilgagi/ Sung by Park Jin-hui, ajaeng by Jin Min-jin