Inside a classroom at the National Gugak Center in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on Friday, a group of people sit upright and cross-legged on the hardwood floor, bringing out melodies with traditional Korean instruments such as the gayageum and haegeum. 

In another room, people passionately learn how to bellow out “pansori,” a type of sung Korean folk narrative, while snapping open and shut traditional fans in rhythm with impromptu short verbal sounds made by a buk (drum) player. 

It is a common sight at the nation’s primary institution dedicated to the Korean traditional performing arts, or “gugak,” except this time, the participants were all foreign.

They were taking part in the “International Gugak Workshop,” an annual program hosted by the center which invites creative artists and academics who study music from around the globe to experience and learn the art of gugak for two weeks.

The institution selected a total of 17 international musicians, composers and academics to join this year’s edition. Initially, most of the participants found out about the workshop through Korean friends and industry connections. The 17 attendees come from diverse countries including the United States, France, Austria, Japan and South Africa, among others.

“There was a wonderful balance struck between academic learning and practical engagement with the instruments,” said participant Jared Redmond, an American pianist who studies Western classical music at Brandeis University. “By learning how to play the instruments ourselves, we were able to really understand how Korean instruments sound, how they work and how difficult it is to perform in a certain way.”