National Musical Instrument

Okryugum is a national musical instrument of Korea newly developed in the 1970s.

Okryugum, whose name denotes its resonant sound, consists of the main body and the legs. The main body is composed of a sound box and sound variation device. The sound variation device makes it possible to play variations by pressing down the pedal for seven sound variations installed at the legs.

It has 34 strings and two bridges on its sound box.

The methods of playing okryugum are diverse, the main methods being pizzicatos, thrumming, and broken-chord playing and so on.

As its name indicates, its timbre is clear, graceful and beautiful. It sounds like harp, piano, kayagum or guitar. It can produce any chromatic semitone, is capable of making lingering sounds like kayagum and is widely used for solo and instrumental concert.

Although its history is not long, okryugum is a musical instrument capable of playing modern music satisfactorily and constitutes a valuable cultural treasure of the country.