Yeonhui (Korean Performing Arts) is the seventh book in a series of edited volumes on Korean music published by the National Gugak Center (Gungnip gugakwon). The main subject of the book is yeonhui, a category of Korean traditional performance typically designating outdoor folk performance. Korean university departments which include a yeonhui major, such as Korean National University of the Arts, incorporate percussion (pungmul), folk dance, itinerant performance genres, funeral dirges, and shaman ritual performance into its curriculum. Yeonhui has come to signify the other in contemporary Korean expressive culture. It is a category that, for centuries, has been associated with folklife and sits outside the perimeters of court-based and academic traditions. This volume, therefore, represents a much-needed English-language publication on the subject.

The Korean Musicology series features volumes on sanjo (virtuosic solo folk performance), pansori (sung epic narrative), traditional notation, the folk song “Arirang,” and traditional dance, as well as a general introductory volume titled Music of Korea (2007). Of all the volumes, the subject of the Yeonhui volume is the most difficult to pin down. As noted by Jeong Hyeong-ho in his chapter on “Korean Yeonhui History” (53-97), “Yeonhui is a term that encompasses many types of traditional Korean performance from gamuakhui (song, dance, music, play) to verbal expressions.” The boundaries and definition of yeonhui remain quite nebulous. This volume, like the other six, is designed to be an introductory volume on the subject. Yet, due to the tenuous nature of yeonhui as a subject of study, the newcomer to Korean traditional performing arts and culture would find the book rather difficult to follow in some places. At the same time, the volume’s value rests in its offering comprehensive readings on yeonhui, from village percussion ensembles to shaman ritual, from itinerant troupe activities to masked dance.

The book begins weakly with a lengthy introduction by Suh Yon-ho, “Korean Yeonhui: Concept and Scope” (9-50). The aim of the chapter is to cover all possible definitions, genres, and performance contexts that would be included within the scope of yeonhui. Suh’s statement at the offset, “Korean traditional performing arts can be called yeonhui,” sets the tone for the entire chapter. While the statement is not inaccurate, it fails to communicate clearly the true nature of the term yeonhui (resolved in the last chapter of the volume when Cedar Bough Saeji defines yeonhui as “folk theater,” page 247). When the term yeonhui is used, it typically refers to a very specific set of performances and performance contexts, not to all Korean performing arts. Yet, Suh fails to indicate this in his writing and the chapter unfolds into a rambling, unfocused diatribe on the many possible types of performing arts which could be included in yeonhui.

If one were, indeed, a beginner embarking on studies of Korean expressive culture, this chapter would be impossible to comprehend completely. For example, the next definition that Suh puts forth is as follows: “I define yeonhui simply as performing arts, yeonhaeng emphasizes the activeness of yeonhui, and madang is an outdoor venue” (10). Suh excludes the crucial word “folk” from his definition, while alluding to the fact that yeonhui typically refers to outdoor, community folk performance. But he never states this directly. Instead, he embarks on long-winded and jargon-heavy explanations of terminology. What the chapter gives us in extreme breadth is lacking in depth and clarity, such as in the description of instrumental performance as “music performed in traditional styles” (16). To a novice as well to a specialist, this type of statement communicates very little. The vagueness of the descriptions of various performance genres is compounded by the use of Korean terminology without explanation. While this reviewer certainly advocates for employment of Korean-based terminology to refer to performance genres, the overuse of Korean terminology obscures the intelligibility of much of the chapter. For example, in a discussion of Buddhist chants he writes, “Bakkatchaebi sori is one of the jitsori sounds with more emphasis on the ritual’s procedure compared to hotsori, and is sung during iuneusik and sikdangjakbeop” (24). Although he briefly explains bakkatchaebi sori in an earlier passage, the other terms are not glossed, nor are they explained in the text. Much confusion could have been resolved with an in-depth glossary and more effort on the part of the author and editor.

Chapter 1, “Korean Yeonhui History,” written by Jeong Hyeong-ho essentially offers a repeat of the first chapter, albeit in a more tightly-organized, understandable, and diachronic format. Jeong contributes historical depth to the volume by taking the reader through several stages in Korean history and the place of yeonhui within. In a concise and clear style, Jeong’s chapter offers a solid general overview of the many genres included within the label yeonhui and their development over time. Jeong employs a plethora of Korean terminology as well, but defines each term plainly for the reader. The chapter would make a solid contribution to class readings on traditional folk culture.

Succeeding chapters by Son Tae-do, Jeon Kyung-wook, Song Ki-tae, and Lee Yong-shik on play troupes, mask dramas, percussion ensembles, and shamanism, respectively, proffer solid entry-level readings. As part of a whole, there is some overlap and contradiction. For example, chapter 2 covers traditional play troupes and activities. The chapter includes much information on masked performance without a reference to more in-depth discussions in chapter 3, “The History and Types of Korean Mask Dramas.” Lee Yong-shik’s article on shamanism is a good overview, but presents a ghost of its more complete version included in the first volume of the Korean Musicology series, Music of Korea. The article also misses an opportunity to provide a solid analysis of the connection between shaman ritual and the development of yeonhui arts.

Cedar Bough T. Saeji’s chapter on “Protection and Transmission of Korean Folk Theater” wraps up the volume by placing yeonhui in its contemporary socio-political, economic, and cultural contexts. While discussion of wonhyeong (archetypical form) would have been best served in its own section on preservation ideology instead of being placed in the “recruitment” section, the chapter offers an informative and distinct close to this edited volume.

Like all volumes produced by the National Gugak Center, the book is not for sale due to issues of funding and government support. There is hope, however. Excluding those who might be lucky enough to receive a hard-back copy of the book from a colleague at the National Gugak Center, the book, and all the books in the Korean Musicology series, can be found online at the National Gugak Center’s English-language site under the publications link: https://www.gugak.go.kr/site/program/board/basicboard/view?menuid=002001006&pagesize;=10&boardtypeid;=74&boardid;=15603

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[Review length: 1095 words • Review posted on April 20, 2016]