Master of Daegeum Who Carried On the Tradition of Jeongak: National Intangible Cultural Heritage Holder Changhoon Cho Passes Away

A Lifetime Devoted to the Resonant Sound for 60 Years
Inherited Tradition Under the Guidance of Master Seongjin Kim

The late Changhoon Cho holder

The "upright sound" that once resonated from the tip of the bamboo has fallen silent. The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on January 7 that Changhoon Cho, the holder of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage "Daegeum Jeongak," passed away from old age on January 6. He was 86 years old.

Daegeum Jeongak, to which the late Cho dedicated his life, refers to a genre in which Jeongak-court or government office music from the past-is performed solo or in ensemble with the daegeum (a large bamboo flute). Characterized by restrained emotion and an unyielding sense of elegance and dignity, Cho was recognized as a master who best captured the daegeum’s unique subtlety.

Born in 1940 in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, Cho was a living testament to the education of Korean traditional music. In 1955, he entered the first class of the National Gugak Institute’s Music Training Center (now the National Gugak High School), embarking on a professional path in traditional music. He studied under the late Seongjin Kim, a daegeum master of his era, inheriting the tradition, and deepened his musicality by mastering accompaniment techniques for vocal genres such as Gagok and Gasa.

Cho was devoted both as a performer and an educator. He nurtured younger generations at traditional music institutions across the country, including Seoul, Busan, and Gwangju. In 1989, he became a transmission education assistant (now called a transmission educator), and in 2009, he was officially recognized as the holder of Daegeum Jeongak.

The funeral is being held in Room 15 of the Yonsei University Sinchon Funeral Hall in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. He is survived by his sons, Gwangbok Cho and Gwangseok Cho. The funeral procession will take place on the morning of January 8, and the burial will be at Seoul Metropolitan Crematorium.