Crown Haitai Holds Nationwide Competition to Discover Korean Traditional Music Talents

The 16th Haneum Dream Tree
and 13th Gather!! Haneum Talents Competitions Held

Crown Haitai Confectionery announced on August 3 that it held the 16th Haneum Dream Tree Competition and the 13th Gather!! Haneum Talents Competition at the Crown Haitai Hall of Seoul Namsan Gugakdang.

On the 2nd, at the Crown Haitai Hall in Seoul Namsan Gugakdang, Yoon Youngdal, Chairman of Crown Haitai (first on the left), is sharing joy with 'Woori Sori Bichuneun Aideul,' the grand prize winner (Minister of Education Award) at the 13th Gather Hanum (Gugak) Young Talent Competition.
[Photo by Crown Haitai Confectionery]

Both competitions, which began in 2010, are nationwide events held annually for elementary and middle school students to discover talented Haneum prodigies and to preserve and develop the essence of traditional music.

The 16th Haneum (Korean Traditional Music) Dream Tree Competition was an individual contest, with about 200 participants fiercely competing in 19 categories, including wind instruments (haegeum, daegeum, piri, taepyeongso) and string instruments (gayageum, geomungo, ajaeng).

In the lower grades of elementary school, Kim Doeun (Pohang Jungang Elementary School) won the grand prize in the folk song category. In the upper grades, Kim Hyunjun (Gwangju Salesio Elementary School) received the grand prize in the gayageum category. In the middle school division, newly established last year, Sung Minji (National Gugak Middle School) earned the highest honor in the gayageum category. In total, 85 young talents were awarded certificates and a combined prize of about 40 million won across five award categories, including gold and silver prizes in each section.

The 13th Gather!! Haneum (Korean Traditional Music) Talents group competition featured 11 teams, each having won the grand prize in categories such as dance (court, folk, Korean) and performance (sitting, standing, mask dance, pungmul), competing for the overall grand prize in the finals. Each group, consisting of six or more members, delivered vibrant and lively performances of traditional arts.

The highest honor, the overall grand prize (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Award), went to "Uri Sori Bichuneun Aideul" (Gyeongsan Elementary School and Yeongcheon Dongbu Elementary School), who performed Sujecheon in the orchestra category. Including the overall grand prize, a total of about 70 million won in prize money and certificates were awarded across five categories: grand prize in each section, excellence award, outstanding award, instructor award, and encouragement award.

On the 1st, at the Crown Haitai Hall in Seoul Namsan Gugakdang, Crown Haitai Chairman Youngdal Yoon shared joy with student Hyunjun Kim (Salesio Elementary School, Gwangju), who won the grand prize in the upper elementary school Gayageum category, at the award ceremony of the 16th Hanum (Gugak) Dream Tree Competition.
[Photo by Crown Haitai Confectionery]

A special congratulatory performance was also prepared for the participants. Middle school alumni from the "Youngjae Haneumhoe," a weekly Sunday event hosted by Crown Haitai Confectionery, delivered a spirited performance to cheer on the younger participants.

The Haneum prodigies discovered through this competition will have the opportunity to participate in "Changsinje," the largest corporate-sponsored Korean traditional music performance in Korea, as well as the "Youngjae Haneumhoe," a weekly performance at the Namsan Gugakdang Crown Haitai Hall, which is considered a dream stage for Haneum talents.

A representative from Crown Haitai Confectionery said, "This is a meaningful competition where we can meet the future masters and virtuosos of traditional music in advance," adding, "We plan to continue supporting and encouraging the dreams of Haneum talents."