Kim Yangdong  Michael Bujold  Young-Ki You

10.18399/acta.2009.12.1.005

Korean ancient music heaven-worship sun sin shamanism sori norae

This article investigates the genesis of ancient Korean music in the rituals of heaven-worship and Shamanism. Through a new interpretation of the Sino-Korean word, “sin (神, god),” this article presents the results of a search for the origin of Korean music within the ritual of heaven-worship as a primitive composite art by reconstructing the indigenous Korean words for “god.” “Sori (sound)” and “norae (song),” were derived from the indigenous Korean words for the sun, “sal” and “nal.” Thus sori and norae reflect the complementary nature of the sun as the origin of life and heaven as the god worshiped by ancient Koreans. According to this interpretation, the true identity of the origins of ancient Korean music can be revealed. The core assertion of this article is that the ancient concepts of music in Korea as the worship of heaven as a god are revealed in its musical terms. This demonstrates that ancient Koreans worshiped heaven and used the principle of heaven (sun) as a philosophical axis in forming their indigenous musical tradition. When we consider that ancient Korean music was derived from the rituals of heaven-worship, which began in the Neolithic period, and that sori and norae refer to the life and actions of human beings, the philosophy of ancient Koreans appears even more remarkable.