Arirang filling the air of the Capitol (May 19, 2012)

Published on 2012/05/31 | Source

In order to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Korean Cultural Center has been trying to promote Arirang, a representative folk song that embodies the sorrow of Korean people, to Washington D.C. citizens and US mainstream society under the theme of The Spirit of Korea.

Arayun consists of 4 professional female musicians, playing gayageum(12-stringed zither), haegeum (2-stringed fiddle), the pipe, and the piano respectively. They represent the young generation of gukak, and are highly acclaimed for contributing to the popularization, research, and composition. Ara implies the sea in pure Korean, and for Yun, a kite. In other words, the name Arayun means a kite flying over the sea, hoping that our music will spread all over the world. They had performed in G20 Seoul Summit in 2010, and were invited as guest performers to celebrate the completion of the Korean Bell Garden at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.

The visitors who listened to Arirang were mesmerized by Arayuns performance and stayed until the very end of it. After the performance, the audience showed great interest by asking if they could take pictures together or about purchasing the albums.

Beside the performance, the Korean Cultural Center displayed Korean traditional instruments at the event hall and let the visitors actually play them. The meaning and importance of Arirang was explained as well.

The Korean Cultural Center Washington D.C. (Director. Byung Goo Choi) presented an Arirang-themed performance by Arayun, a Korean traditional music ensemble team, as a part of the Fiesta Asia festival held on Pennsylvania Ave., on May 19th.

In order to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Korean Cultural Center has been trying to promote Arirang, a representative folk song that embodies the sorrow of Korean people, to Washington D.C. citizens and US mainstream society under the theme of The Spirit of Korea.

Arayun consists of 4 professional female musicians, playing gayageum(12-stringed zither), haegeum (2-stringed fiddle), the pipe, and the piano respectively. They represent the young generation of gukak, and are highly acclaimed for contributing to the popularization, research, and composition. Ara implies the sea in pure Korean, and for Yun, a kite. In other words, the name Arayun means a kite flying over the sea, hoping that our music will spread all over the world. They had performed in G20 Seoul Summit in 2010, and were invited as guest performers to celebrate the completion of the Korean Bell Garden at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.

The visitors who listened to Arirang were mesmerized by Arayuns performance and stayed until the very end of it. After the performance, the audience showed great interest by asking if they could take pictures together or about purchasing the albums.

Beside the performance, the Korean Cultural Center displayed Korean traditional instruments at the event hall and let the visitors actually play them. The meaning and importance of Arirang was explained as well.