A Study on Development and Achievement of the Korean Musicology in Japan since 1945

Abstract

This article examines the Korean musicology, developed in Japan since 1945, by period and the the results by field. During the Japanese colonial period, Japanese research on Korean music was actively conducted in relation to the ruling policy of the Japanese Government-General of Korea, but after the defeat in World War II, research on Korean music decreased significantly. Therefore, the period from 1945 to 1965 can be called the ‘gap period’ of the Korean musicology in Japan. In the 1970s, as Ethnomusicology grew significantly in Japan, Korean music research was conducted as part of it. Master's and doctoral theses on Korean music were published, related research also surged, and the Goryeoak yeonguhoe (Komagaku Research Society) was established (1976) beginning regular academic exchanges between scholars from the two countries. Therefore, the period from 1966 to the 1970s can be called the growth period of the Korean musicology in Japan. In the 1980s, in-depth research was conducted through long-term fieldwork and study abroad, and the number of studies increased significantly due to academic activities of various generations. Two research books, Song of Arirang and the Study of Sound were published, and six articles on Korean music were included in a collection related to Asian music, strengthening the status of Korean music research in Japan. In addition, high-quality academic exchanges between music scholars from both countries continued by the Komagaku Research Society. Therefore, the 1980s can be called the establishment period of the Korean musicology in Japan. The 1990s was a time when the research field expanded significantly, and research results came out in all fields except court music. In particular, it is noteworthy that research on the history of music during the Joseon Dynasty and modern music began. Although the number of studies has decreased compared to before, in terms of diversity in research, it can be said that the Korean musicology has entered a stable period during this period. In the 2000s, the number of studies decreased even more than before. This is because academic activities were centered around the third-generation researchers. Therefore, this period can be viewed as a stagnation period or period of generational change in the Korean musicology in Japan. It is noteworthy that while there was no articles on folk songs and instruments that had been studied steadily before, modern music history increased dramatically (12 articles) compared to the previous period (1 article). Since 2010, research results have increased significantly, the number of researchers has increased, and the publications in Korean journals (in Korean) have increased, marking a period of significant quantitative and qualitative development in Korean music research. Therefore, this can be called the prosperity period of the Korean musicology in Japan. It has been confirmed that Korean music research has been conducted in all fields in Japan since 1945. A total of 190 studies were conducted, with the most popular field being folk music (53), followed by music history (49) and musical instruments (32), followed by general theory (17), music style (14), music exchange (11), royal music (6), and etc (8). This is in contrast to the intensive publication of articles on court music in Japanese colonial period. The reason why so many studies on folk music seems to be the result of active research using ethnomusicological approach to collecting data through fieldwork while the reason why the study of modern music history has increased rapidly since 2000 may be because of interest in the special situation of the Japanese colonial period and materials written in Japanese in this period, which easily accessible to Japanese researchers.