Hwasun-gun, Intangible Local Heritage No. 64 Naepyeong-ri Gilsseom Song Transmission Event Performance

Held as a Village Festival by a Preservation Society Composed of Local Residents

Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 31st that the Naepyeong-ri Gilsseomnorae Preservation Society hosted a Naepyeong-ri Gilsseomnorae transmission event held as a village festival.

The performance took place on the 28th from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM at Gilsseom Maru, a training center located in Naepyeong-ri, Hwasun-eup, and throughout the village, with about 150 attendees including villagers and tourists.

The young people living in the village gathered in the evenings despite their busy daily lives to showcase the entire Gilsseomnorae songs they had learned bit by bit from the village elders, receiving enthusiastic responses from the audience.

In particular, attendees gave a big round of applause, saying that the event successfully embodied the purpose of passing down the disappearing Gilsseomnorae songs and served as a good example of the transmission form of other intangible cultural assets.

Also, the villagers who created a nearly vanished cotton field at the village entrance went to the cotton field to pick ripe cotton and sang the Gilsseomnorae songs that were sung at that time.

The villagers formed a preservation society to revive and not forget the Gilsseomnorae songs sung in such difficult farming environments, and they have been continuing preservation and transmission events every year.

Many visitors who have memories of the disappearing Gilsseom practice learned about the event information and came to attend this performance.

Seunghyun Kim from Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do said, “My 97-year-old mother wanted to see the Gilsseom scene before she passed away. After searching, I found out that there was a transmission event here in Naepyeong-ri, Hwasun, so our whole family came down early in the morning. We are grateful to have seen such a wonderful performance and received great hospitality,” expressing joy at fulfilling his mother’s wish.

Meanwhile, the Naepyeong-ri Gilsseomnorae was designated as Hwasun-gun Local Cultural Heritage No. 64 on December 12, 2013. It has represented Jeollanam-do at the National Folk Arts Festival, winning the Grand Prize (Prime Minister’s Award), and the Naepyeong-ri Gilsseomnori Preservation Society has been formed with residents themselves doing their best to preserve and transmit it to this day.