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information on Korean stamp
Date of Issue : 2022.08.24
Types : 3
Denomination : 430 won
Design :
Stamp No. : 3613
Printing Process
& Colors
: null
Size of Stamp : 48 × 29
WholeSheet
Composition
: 3 × 5
Image Area : 48 × 29
Paper : null
Perforation : 13¼ × 13
Printer : POSA
Designer : Park,Eun-kyung
Quantity : null
Detail
Gugak, or Korean traditional music, is a musical heritage that developed over centuries, reflecting the daily lives and emotions of Korean people. Chwita (also called haengak, “march music’) is one of gugak genres that was performed when the king, or his high-ranking officials or military units, made a formal march or held a ceremony. A group of military musicians performing chwita is referred to as chwitadae. Korea Post is issuing the commemorative stamps to introduce Korea`s traditional marching band and highlight the authority and power of the royal family of Joseon. Chwitadae (chwi meaning “to blow,” referring to wind instruments; ta meaning “to beat,” referring to percussion instruments; dae meaning “band”) performed during an official journey of the king or a military march. Chwita is generally divided into five subgenres: chwita, gilgunak, giltaryeong, byeorujo taryeong, and gunak. Although the term chwita refers, in its narrow sense, to daechwita (“grand pipes and drums”) which was performed when the king left the walled capital to pay an official visit to a significant place such as his ancestor’s tomb, or to accompany a military march—a triumphal march, in particular. Because the band was operated by the military, the musicians wore different uniforms according to the unit they belonged to. The band in yellow uniform is a unit of naechwi, or “inner pipers”, who maintains the heritage of chwitadae of the royal court of Joseon. The musicians on the front section are called chwigosu (“pipe and drum players”) while those on the rear section seaksu (“fine music players”). The front part is largely consisting of percussionists while the rear part musicians playing melodious music. Daechwita typically consists of ordinary percussion instruments and two special wind instruments, nabal and nagak. They are accompanied by the players of melodic instruments, such as piri, haegeum and daegeum, when they perform march music such as chwita, gilgunak and giltaryeong. The commemorative stamps shown here present a chwitadae band of nine, three on each stamp, each playing a different instrument and one holding a commander’s baton. The leftmost stamp features a military official in full uniform leading the chwitadae band with a ceremonial baton in hand. He is followed by two wind instrument players, one playing nabal, a long trumpet-like brass horn, and the other, nagak, a conch shell trumpet. They are, in turn, followed by the musician who plays the taepyeongso, the only melodic instrument used by the chwitadae, and percussionists playing the traditional Korean drums janggo and yonggo. The rightmost stamp features players playing the jing, a large gong that signals the start and end of the performance of the chwitadae, followed a pair of bara, a type of crash cymbal, and the ulla, a set of small gongs hung in rows on a rack and beaten by a wooden mallet. We hope this commemorate stamp series serves as an opportunity to increase your understanding of the chwitadae, traditional Korean marching band that fascinates viewers with delightful marches.
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