Lee Cheol-ho, Holder of National Intangible Heritage 'Gurye Hyangje Julpungnyu', Passes Away

Dedicated to Preserving and Passing Down the Pungnyu Tradition in Gurye

Lee Cheol-ho, the holder of the National Intangible Heritage Gurye Hyangje Julpungnyu, has passed away. According to the Cultural Heritage Administration on the 3rd, he closed his eyes forever the day before due to old age. He was 86 years old.

Gurye Hyangje Julpungnyu is a string instrumental piece called ‘Hyeonak Yeongsan Hoesang’ passed down in Gurye, Jeollanam-do. ‘Yeongsan Hoesang’ is an ensemble piece composed like a suite (a collection of several instrumental movements with different characters but the same key, forming a complete instrumental work), also called Pungnyu. Among them, the one centered on string instruments is called ‘Hyeonak Yeongsan Hoesang’ or ‘Julpungnyu.’ When passed down regionally, the term ‘Hyangje (鄕制)’ is prefixed.

The deceased decided to enter the field after being fascinated by Danso performance by Kim Mugyu (1908?1994), a holder, during middle school. He learned Danso from Jeon Yong-seon (1890?1965), known as the founder of Danso Sanjo. From 1973, he studied under Kim Mugyu and was recognized as a transmission education assistant (currently transmission educator) in 1988.

He inherited the musical characteristics of Kim Mugyu and Jeon Yong-seon well and was designated as a holder in 1996. He firmly maintained the tradition of Pungnyu in Gurye and devoted himself to the preservation and transmission activities of Gurye Hyangje Julpungnyu.

The funeral parlor was set up in Special Room 3 at Gurye Hospital Funeral Hall. The funeral will be held on the 4th, and the burial site is the family graveyard in Toji-myeon, Gurye-gun.