The book Music in Korea (Experience of Music, Representation of Culture) by Donna Lee Kwon was published.
According to MUSIQI MA news-analysis site, Mahour Publishing has published a book on Music in Korea (Experience of Music, Representation of Culture) by Donna Lee Kwon translated by Zeinab Mahfouzi and accompanied by an audio CD.
“Music in Korea” is one of several volumes of case studies that can be used alongside the book “How to Think Music”, the central volume of the World Music Collection. The book Think Music dealing with music of diverse cultures provides a framework for exploring practical musical knowledge around the world. This book provides a ground for a wide range of case studies, each focusing on a specific area of the world. Each study considers the contemporary musical situation of an area as a starting point and deals with historical data and traditions as far as they are concerned.
Despite Korea’s long standing as a major cultural power in East Asia, the country still has a small share of world music texts. Korean Music is the first single-volume book that briefly introduces Korean music. Unfortunately, the rich culture and music of this region has often been overshadowed by its political instability.
Based on the extensive fieldwork done by the author of the book, Donna Lee Kwon, interviews with musicians, objective reports of performances, and clear and explicit explanations can be found throughout the book. The author uses three themes to explore the area and the similarities and differences between its different traditions: Korea is an area with a transnational role in East Asia, Korean music commonalities and cultural policies, and the preservation of a rich cultural identity through musical and aesthetic coherence. Each of these themes has been used in the study of Korean classical musical traditions and development in contemporary times.
The text of the book, along with an eighty-minute CD of music samples, contains numerous audio exercises that engage students practically and actively with music.