A Study on Development and Achievement of the Korean Musicology in Japan since 1945
Authors:   National Gugak Center, Lee Jisun 
Published: November 2023

This article examines the Korean musicology, developed in Japan since
1945, by period and the the results by field.
During the Japanese colonial period, Japanese research on Korean music
was actively conducted in relation to the ruling policy of the Japanese
Government-General of Korea, but after the defeat in World War II, research
on Korean music decreased significantly. Therefore, the period from 1945 to
1965 can be called the ‘gap period’ of the Korean musicology in Japan.
In the 1970s, as Ethnomusicology grew significantly in Japan, Korean music
research was conducted as part of it. Master's and doctoral theses on Korean
music were published, related research also surged, and the Goryeoak
yeonguhoe (Komagaku Research Society) was established (1976) beginning
regular academic exchanges between scholars from the two countries.
Therefore, the period from 1966 to the 1970s can be called the growth
period of the Korean musicology in Japan.
In the 1980s, in-depth research was conducted through long-term fieldwork
and study abroad, and the number of studies increased significantly due to
academic activities of various generations. Two research books, Song of
Arirang and the Study of Sound were published, and six articles on Korean
music were included in a collection related to Asian music, strengthening the
status of Korean music research in Japan. In addition, high-quality academic
exchanges between music scholars from both countries continued by the
Komagaku Research Society. Therefore, the 1980s can be called the
establishment period of the Korean musicology in Japan.
The 1990s was a time when the research field expanded significantly, and
research results came out in all fields except court music. In particular, it is noteworthy that research on the history of music during the Joseon Dynasty
and modern music began. Although the number of studies has decreased
compared to before, in terms of diversity in research, it can be said that the
Korean musicology has entered a stable period during this period.
In the 2000s, the number of studies decreased even more than before. This
is because academic activities were centered around the third-generation
researchers. Therefore, this period can be viewed as a stagnation period or
period of generational change in the Korean musicology in Japan. It is
noteworthy that while there was no articles on folk songs and instruments
that had been studied steadily before, modern music history increased
dramatically (12 articles) compared to the previous period (1 article).
Since 2010, research results have increased significantly, the number of
researchers has increased, and the publications in Korean journals (in Korean)
have increased, marking a period of significant quantitative and qualitative
development in Korean music research. Therefore, this can be called the
prosperity period of the Korean musicology in Japan.
It has been confirmed that Korean music research has been conducted in
all fields in Japan since 1945. A total of 190 studies were conducted, with the
most popular field being folk music (53), followed by music history (49) and
musical instruments (32), followed by general theory (17), music style (14),
music exchange (11), royal music (6), and etc (8). This is in contrast to the
intensive publication of articles on court music in Japanese colonial period.
The reason why so many studies on folk music seems to be the result of
active research using ethnomusicological approach to collecting data through
fieldwork while the reason why the study of modern music history has
increased rapidly since 2000 may be because of interest in the special
situation of the Japanese colonial period and materials written in Japanese in
this period, which easily accessible to Japanese researchers.