The National Gugak Center (Lim Jae-won) has published an electronic book in English for foreign composers, who are being introduced to the Korean traditional music for the first time. This publication was preceded by the Korean version of the "Traditional Korean Instruments: A Practical Guide for Composers" published last year and covering 7 most used Korean traditional instruments. This year's guidebook is aimed to give a better understanding of the Korean traditional instruments to the foreing composers who hadn't encountered Korean traditional music before. 

7 instruments, including Danso, Sogeum, Saenghwang, Taepyeongso, Yanggeum, Cheolhyeonggeum and Janggu, were covered in this Practical Guide written by the following Korean music scholars: Korean traditional music performer Yong-gu Lee (Professor/ Danso, Department of Korean Traditional Music, Chugye University of Arts), Young-Seop Lee (Professor/ Sogeum, Department of Korean Traditional Music, Yeungnam University), Hyo-Young Kim (Performer/ Saenghwang), Yoon-Kyung Jin (Professor/ Taepyeongso, Pusan National University), Myung-Seon Jeon (Member of the Korean Classical Music Orchestra/ Yanggeum), Kyung-Hwa Yu (Professor of Traditional Arts Department, Korea National University of Arts, Cheolhyeonggeum and Janggu), and Hee-Seon Kim (Director of the Korean Traditional Music Institute, National Gugak Center). The English version of the book was revised by Anthony T. Rauche, famous American music scholar, an emeritus Professor of the University of Hartford.

The Practical Guide covers in detail the structure, various kinds, range and performance techniques of each of the music instruments, using music sheets and videos. The publishers hope that this Practical Guide would be of help to those foreign musicians, who are new to the Korean musical instruments.

Director of the National Gugak Center Jea-won Lim pointed out, "We hope this this electronic book becomes a useful manual for foreign composers to better understand Korean traditional music and instruments, and we also hope, that these composers, in turn, will help Korean music to take its rightful place among the world’s music.”

Publications can be accessed free of charge in PDF format from Musical Instrument Research/ Video Material section in the Research menu of the National Gugak Center Nuri House (http://www.gugak.go.kr/eng).