A Study on Han Seong-ki's Gayageum Byeongchang "Eohwa Cheongchun"
Authors:   National Gugak Center, Shin Eunjoo , Yang Juhee 
Published: May 2023

Han Seongki (1889~1950), born from Yeong'am, Jeolla Province, was a musician proficient in gayageum (12-string plucked zither) sanjo (solo instrumental music) and byeongchang (singing with playing an instrument) in the first half of the 20th century. He learned sanjo and byeongchang from Kim Changjo and then passed them on to Choi Oksan and Kim Jukpa. His music, mainly gayageum sanjo and byeongchang , remained through the records of the first half of the 20th century; the repertoire of gayageum byeongchang includes a variety of music such as dan'ga (lit. short song sung before performing pansori), pansori (musical storytelling), japga (folk songs sung by professionals), and minyo (folk songs sung by the general public). While the studies on his sanjo have been relatively active, there are a few studies on his byeongchang. Yet, since these studies have not considered his sanjo and byeongchang together, there are some limitation that they do not properly illuminate Han Seong-gi's unique musicality from the perspective that he was well versed in gayageum and sori (vocal). This paper focuses on the piece of gayageum byeongchang 'Eohwa Cheongchun' among the music he left behind.
Han Seongki's dan'ga 'Eohwa Cheongchun' has been released as a record three times and, according to the records from Gyeongseong Broadcasting Station, it was one of Han Seong-ki's main repertoires. In particular, it is speculated that 'Gongdobaekbal', 'Gongdonan', and 'Baekbalga' sung by Han Seongki are related to 'Eohwa Cheongchun' in that they share the similar lyrics.
'Chieron38 Eohwa Cheongchun' and 'CoreaH7 Eohwa Cheongchun' recorded in 1932 and 1935, respectively, are made up of almost the same lyrics, but the beginning of 'CoreaH7 Eohwa Cheongchun' adds the phrase starting with 'Gongdorani baekbaliyo... '. After that, the lyrics following after 'Eohwa cheongchun...' proceed in the same way on both albums, which is a structure in which the lyrics used in any dan'ga are appropriately included and independent lyrics are placed in between. This shows the spontaneous and free reconstruction of dan'ga at the time. In addition, it is presumed that it was reconstructed by Han Seongki in that a unit song with the same composition as Han Seongki's 'Eohwa Cheongchun' has not been found among those materials recorded at that time and dan'ga pieces passed down today.
'CoreaH7 Eohwa Cheongchun' is unique in that the length recorded for the entire album is about 3 minutes and 30 seconds and about 1 minute at the beginning is only a gayageum performance. This gayageum part plays the same role as the daseureum (prelude) of sanjo , comparing to the version of Han Seongki's among the daseureum of Kim Juk-pa’s gayageum sanjo. In 'Chieron38 Eohwa Cheongchun,' the gayageum melody at the beginning is short, about 11 seconds, and instead, the gayageum melody of about 22 seconds is added in the form of a postlude. The aspects in the two records appear different, but the records of 'Eohwa Cheongchun' clearly reveals the ability of Han Seongki, who was good at gayageum sanjo , and it can be seen that he changed his music by linking sanjo and byeongchang.
The vocal melody of the byeongchang on both records is almost the same.
Considering 'CoreaH7 Eohwa Cheongchun', it is centered on the 4th skeleton of 'sol-do' and the 2nd progression of 'do-re', there is the vibrato on the note of 'sol' and the regression on the note of 're'. The cadence of the paragraph is repeated with the phrase of 'Sol-do-La-Sol-Sol', and moves up to a higher register as it progresses to the second half, changing the music. While the gayageum accompaniment's melody in byeongchang is generally the same as the vocal’s melody, the gayageum performance, characterized by sufficient virtuosity and musical expression, is splendid compared to other gayageum byeongchang of the time.…