Kim Hae-sook, a performer of the gayageum or the 12-string zither and professor, has been named to lead a state-run center for Korean traditional music, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday.

Kim, 60, will assume the post of director general at the National Gugak Center for a two-year term. She is the first woman to hold the post since the organization was founded in 1951.

“New director-general Kim is an acclaimed performer and scholar in various fields of Korean traditional music,” the ministry said in a statement. “We expect her to spearhead the center’s on-going efforts to preserve and promote gugak.”

Aside from her music career as a gayageum player, Kim has been teaching at the Korea National University of Arts since 1998. She briefly led the gugak center’s research department from 2005-2006.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)