Portraying feminist beliefs and transcending cultural norms: Korean women artists’ reinterpretation of songs traditionally performed by men

This study explores how contemporary women artists in the field of traditional Korean music have recently portrayed feminist beliefs on stage. At the concert titled The Songs Once Used for Men, two South Korean women artists completely transformed Korean court music called Jongmyo jeryeak (Royal Ancestral Shrine Music, which has rarely been adapted by contemporary performers because of the desire to preserve the original form of cultural heritage. Women artists sang songs, played musical instruments and danced – all these practices were originally performed by male performers in accordance with Confucian traditions. Beyond their androgynous looks, low-pitched voices, the use of electronic music sounds and newly manufactured musical instruments indicate the resistance against traditional gender roles in the Korean music scene and, more generally, contemporary Korean society. The unconventional performance formats and styles exemplify today’s women artists in the field of fusion gugak, a contemporary form of the traditional Korean music, which portrays ideas on gender issues through stage performances. The findings expand our understanding of feminist music criticism, which argues that music does not solely reflect passive societal views but serves as a public forum within which various modes of gender organisation are asserted, adopted, contested and negotiated.