Korea’s Sound Through the Centuries: From King Sejong to Folksongs and BTS
| When | Tuesday, April 21, 2026 from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Where | Asia Library Hatcher Library North, Fourth Floor View building informationView floor plan |
| Event type | Other |
Step into a musical journey spanning more than 500 years, tracing Korea’s evolving soundscape from the reign of King Sejong (15th century) to today’s global phenomenon of K-pop.
Featuring selected library collections on Korean traditional music, 아리랑 (Arirang), K-pop, and BTS, this exhibit highlights how music reflects cultural identity, innovation, and social change across Korean history. Explore the stories that shaped Korean sound — from 정간보 (Chŏngganbo, 井間譜), one of the world’s earliest systems of music notation, to contemporary pop production, fandom, and global cultural influence.
Curated by Yunah Sung (Korean Studies Librarian), in collaboration with Helen Look (Collection Analyst, U-M Library) and Sunhong Kim (PhD candidate in Musicology, U-M).
Korea’s Sound Through the Centuries: From King Sejong to Folksongs and BTS, images from Yunah Sung and Wikimedia Commons.
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Library events are free and open to the public, and we are committed to making them accessible to attendees. If you anticipate needing accommodations to participate, please notify the listed contact with as much notice as possible.