Gayageum | A Korea musical instrument

When I first saw the instrument it immediately reminded me of the Chinese Guzheng.

Having studied in Chinese school all my live, I am not new to Guzheng infact my school has a club and class for those who want to learn about this instrument. When I found out about Gayageum I was like... eh eh… this looks similar to Guzheng lar.

And what fascinate me event more was that, when I was searching for more info on Gayageum I found out about this >>>
On the Korean Peninsula, the gayageum was part of the music of court halls, ceremonies, rituals, and commemorative, religious and social celebrations. The ancient Gaya Confederacy is where the name gayageum, which literally means "Gaya instrument," comes from. The harp has strings made of nylon or other materials that are organized, with each string having an absolute sound
different from that of other strings, while the gayageum's strings rest horizontally on its wooden body. The harp has 47 strings while the gayageum traditionally has 12. <<<<

Out of curiosity I search over the internet the key differentiator between this two - Korean Gayageum and Chinese Guzheng. And these are my findings :

Korean Gayageum
- The players will put the Gayageum on their knees in a cross-legged position when they playing the instrument.
- The sounds are rather soft for the Korean Gayageum.
- The Gayageum is able to change the string pitch by manipulating or moving the bridge.
- The other uniqueness of Gayageum is that it is played with the bare fingers.
- Its strings is made out of silk.
- Last but not least, the Gayageum was invented by Wu Ruk, who was commissioned by Gaya’s king.

Chinese Guzheng
- It is played lying horizontally on the floor.
- The Guzheng has twenty-one strings made of metal.
- It is also played with the fingers by pushing the left side of string to produce a vibrato effect.
- The Guzheng requires picks on the player’s right thumb, forefinger, and middle finger.
- Finally, Guzheng instrument creates a celestial sound by doing rapid alternate picking.

Photo credit : Tourism Korea

Do you know that you can actually visit Goryeong, the capital of Daegaya where the glorious culture and heritage Gaya prospered. At Gayatgo village, you can actually experience Gayageum as it is the symbols (or icon perhaps?) of the village. And you might be amazed this village has the best Gayageum experience hall in the whole South Korea – according to their local lah. If you want to know how the instrument is made you can take a tour at the workshop and check-out the ‘how gayageum is being assembled/made’ and of course learn a simple song or two, and later entertain you friends during meal time.

For those that is interested to listen to the soothing sound of Gayageum, you can head over to Spotify and listen.