Nongak and Samulnori

Nongak is the sound of a Korean village at work and at festival: a band of drums and gongs moving in a spiral, banners in front, dancers inside the ring, played for planting, for harvest and for chasing bad luck out of a house. Four instruments carry it, the small brass kkwaenggwari that cuts through everything, the deeper jing, the hourglass janggu and the barrel buk, and some players wear sangmo hats with a long ribbon they spin in circles while drumming. In 1978 four musicians took the same four instruments, sat down and played it as a stage piece, and that is samulnori. Nongak is listed by UNESCO as intangible heritage.

What you actually see

• The kkwaenggwari - the small brass gong that leads and genuinely hurts the ears.
• Sangmo hats - ribbons spun in circles by drummers who never stop playing.
• The circle - the band moving in a spiral rather than standing on a stage.
• Samulnori - the seated four-player version, tight, fast and indoors.

When to go

Outdoor nongak clusters around spring planting, autumn harvest and the lunar new year, and turns up at almost any local festival. Folk villages run it to a daily timetable. Indoor samulnori concerts happen year round in Seoul and are the better option in bad weather. Sit a few rows back, because the front is very loud.

Honest expectations

It is closer to a marching band than a concert, and small children and anyone sensitive to noise struggle with it. Staged versions for visitors are short and polished, and lose the disorder that makes the village form work. Watching outdoors often means standing for an hour in cold weather. There is no narrative to follow.

Nearby

The folk village near Yongin and regional harvest festivals are the reliable places to catch it.