This was a short-enough trip that I could just fit in within half a day. Not that Guadalajara has many things that interest me, but it is close enough to Madrid that now and then there is a good show or artist coming. This time around, the South Korea Cultural Centre Centro Cultural Coreano, sponsored a small tour by the Korean percussion group Groove&, as part of its Korea Sound Festival. One of the stops was the Centro Ibercaja Guadalajara.

Based in Seoul, Groove& defines itself as a female percussion ensemble team based on traditional music. It is formed by three women: Sang-kyung Lee [이상경], Min-ju Sohn [손민주] and Ha-gyeong Kim [김하경]. All of them play the janggu [장구], which is the most traditional Korean drum – it has two heads (each with a different pitch) made from animal skin and the body is hourglass-shaped.

Sang-kyung Lee also plays the yanggeum [양금], a percussion instrument similar to a hammered dulcimer, but with metal strings which are hit with a bamboo stick to produce the music. Min-ju Sohn plays the ulla [운라], a set of ten small gongs hanging vertically from a wooden frame, the gongs are struck with a small beater. Finally, Ha-gyeong Kim plays the kkwaenggwari [꽹과리] a small brass gong which is held from a string with one hand and struck with a hard stick with the other. There were also cymbals and gongs.

I arrived at the cultural centre about half an hour before the show. There were a few people waiting, and it was a very weird crowd. Entry was free, and the act was sponsored by a local cultural association, which attracted a number of people who had absolutely no idea about what they were going to see. When doors opened, I found a seat on the third row, behind the authorities and the associates, but rather in the centre. The introduction was a little bit embarrassing though. The person introducing the band could not pronounce their name, and she sneered that “Korea is more than we know from the films and series that are a fad”. Well, of course. I’ve never been to Seoul, but I am rather sure people do not squid-game through life.

The concert lasted for about an hour and it was very interesting. Unfortunately, the venue was extremely small and the metal instruments reverberated a lot. For the first song, Kim walked out dressed in a folk costume and played around the audience, I think in a bit of a recreation of a pungmul [풍물] – a Korean folk music tradition that includes drumming, dancing, and singing, with performers wearing bright colours. Lee did all the talking, and she tried some Spanish along with English. The Korean she spoke was translated into Spanish by someone from the Korean Embassy I think. There were eight songs, a few emcees, during one of which Lee introduced the instruments. This was extremely funny, especially the ulla, as Sohn offered us a rendition of Under the sea from The Little Mermaid.

Setlist:

   1. Groove&
   2. Get!
   3. Wave
   4. Chaser
   5. Dodang-gut [도당굿]. Dodang-gut is a shamanic festival / ritual to call the spirits so they bring welfare, and well-being to the village, with a special importance given to female shamans.
   6. Pray
   7. Dusk
   8. Matt-Jang-Gu [맞장구]. This is a word that means agreement or listening to the other person, and also the position of two people playing the janggu drum face-to-face.

The show was extremely energetic considering these three women barely even move from their siting points on the floor. I had a lot of fun, despite the weird public – and the fact that apparently people in Guadalajara just love talking during shows, providing commentary.

Despite the metallic sounds being extremely high and echoing, the drumming was fantastic, you could feel it in your belly, and I really enjoyed it. I had never thought I would end up in a traditional Korean drumming show, but the opportunity presented itself and I took it up. A while back I participated in a Japanese drumming (taiko) workshop, and had a blast. I did not expect this to be similar – different countries and all – but I’m starting to suspect I like folk percussion in general.

After the concert, the three drummers met with attendees. They took pictures with people and had some merchandising on sale. I bought a signed CD for 10€, said “thank you” in Korean (literally the only thing I can say that is not a food… and I don’t even like Korean food) and we took a picture together.

I headed off after that, just in time to get caught in the rain, because what is a concert without a little adventure?