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An-nyong. Hi there, and welcome to the Loose Roots homepage. This is our attempt to provide some expression of what we do and who we are for those interested or curious, and most importantly to provide a web resource for our art. We hope you get something out of this site, and feel free to contact us. So what exactly do we do, and what is our art? We learn, play and perform the traditional Korean percussion music called poongmul, a form of musical expression, Korean cultural identity, and political assertion dating back hundreds of years. Groups such as ours not only strive to preserve and understand this tradition and identity but also to make it recognized and relevent today, and idealistically to put a bit of our creativity and ourselves into it as well. As for who we are, that's something a bit harder to define. There are often discussions as to what exactly we should call ourselves: "Traditional Korean Drum Group?" "Korean-American Drum Troupe?" " The interchanging of the terms "Korean" and "American" is a good parallel of our role within the University of Chicago, the United States, and the poongmul community. Our individual definitions of what constitutes "identity" are vague ones, not able to be confined to one particular role. Indeed, the most accurate realization of identity is one that exists within a mix of many roles and perspectives. In the course of this group's development since its founding in 1993 by Eunice Yoon, Loose Roots has become one of the most culturally diverse organizations of its kind, consisting of members of many varied backgrounds. We strive to preserve the Korean cultural history and traditions of this music, yet to modernize, communicate and share it with other cultures as well. Our goal is not to understand this tradition as an exclusive one, but as a vital art that can be shared by many diverse peoples within the context of a very diverse campus and community. Another unique aspect of our group in that we function not only as a cultural organization but as a musical one as well. Understanding the meaning of this music is essential, but so is being able to play it proficiently and to sound good! We put a lot of effort and devotion into learning and practicing the rhythms and our drum techniques, and developing the group cohesiveness required to play poongmul well. Loose Roots serves many functions and roles, but within the more serious-sounding ideals of cultural and musical integrity is the fact that this is really fun! And the companionship and relentless pursuit of these fun, cool, and memorable experiences is what makes this art worth learning and doing. Thanks for visiting the site, and enjoy... |
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About Loose Roots | A Little Bit of History... | Members | Instruments | Pictures |
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Practices | Past Performances... | News | Poong-Mool Links | Korean Cultural Links |
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