The National Gugak Center is to release a music video online every Wednesday, featuring traditional Korean music and dance.

The Gugak In project, led by the state-run institution, kicked off last year, to help traditional performing artists who have been experiencing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, a total of 20 acts were selected for the project. The center produced a series of music videos featuring the artists’ performances at scenic spots across the greater Seoul area.

According to the center, 30 acts were selected this year, including individual performers. The artists range in age from 6 to 68, from a child prodigy to an Intangible Cultural Property title holder.

The featured traditional music spans gayageum, folk songs, salpurichum, or exorcism dance, mask dance and more. 

This year, the music videos were shot around the country and the pay was raised from 5 million won to 7 million won per act.

The center said it will collaborate with the Korea Creative Contents Agency, Korean Culture Center and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote the videos overseas.

It also plans to provide tourist information about the places featured in the music videos, encouraging the viewers to visit them.

“We hope to deliver the joy of gugak through the high-quality music videos to viewers in and outside of Korea,” the center’s press release said. It also said that the center would promote the videos on commercial music platforms, with all royalties going to the creators.

A new episode of Gugak In series will be released Wednesdays at 11 a.m. from June 2 to Dec. 29 via the center’s channels on video streaming platforms YouTube and Naver TV.

By Im Eun-byel  (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)