As I hear the playing of the drums and the stinging noise of the gghengarhi, my heart beats fast. I see the people listening to us play and I smell the mixture of the variety of foods.  The loud echo from the gold plate and the steady beat of the drums make me smile as I play.  As I look into the faces of my friends playing with me, I feel enlightened.  On my left hand, the vibration rings through my fingers and my ears.  From the inquisitive eyes of the children to the aghast eyes of the adults, we look into each other’s agitated eyes.   

      This is an experience that I will never forget.  We played in Samulnoree and this was our first time performing at Navy pier.  We were all excited to play for the people that had come to see us and the other performers. This was an event that taught me that I was a true Korean.  I was playing at Navy Pier to share the culture with others.  We were representing not only our culture, but our church also.  The clothes we wore were black with yellow, red, and blue at the sides.  Just by getting into the clothes, I felt like I was transforming myself into a real Korean ready to show people that Koreans had an awesome culture. 

      I said previously that I finally felt like a true Korean; I guess it was sort of tough to bring out my Korean self before this experience.  I think it’s because I live in America.  What made me feel so Americanized was that I was so used to going to school and listening to English and seeing caucasian people.  I was also used to seeing caucasian people everywhere I go.  I often visit Korea and see what it’s like.  At times, I want to get used to what’s at Korea rather than America.  I want to go to Korean food stands, go shopping at nighttime, and meet Korean celebrities by going to concerts.  I think that the one thing that does make me accustomed to being a Korean is the food.  The food that I eat at home is amazing.  I love eating the different varieties of food.  I love watching Korean dramas and sitcoms.  I think that’s another thing that brings out my true self.  I learn Korean and I enjoy watching them.  I love watching the actors really get into character and make me laugh and cry. I get to see the places in Korea that I haven’t been to right in the dramas. I love watching the celebrities dance and sing on the sitcoms. I enjoy watching the games they play. My favorite sitcom is Rainbow Romance. I really love watching game shows such as Xman and love letter. I get to see all the celebrities and I enjoy watching dangyunhajee.

      Samulnoree consists of four instruments.  The sa means four, the mul means instrument and the noree means playing.  The leader of the saumlnoree is the gghengarhi.  The gghengarhi represents thunder and it is a gold platter shaped into round form.  The next instrument is the jangoo.  The jangoo represents the rain.  Beginners of samulnoree usually start out with the jangoo.  The next instrument is the boohk.  The boohk represents the clouds.  It is a round instrument but smaller than the jangoo.   Last, there is the ging.  The ging represents wind.  It is also made out of gold platter but a lot bigger than the gghengarhi.  It is interesting to hear the combination of these instruments.  You never can predict what’s going to happen next.  They make an amazing, massive sound to almost deafen your ears. 

While I played in the samulnoree, I never knew it could mean so much to me.  I never knew that we would have so much fun by playing these instruments and learning new routines and songs.  As I’ve played these, I’ve learned that it’s really important to be proud of your culture.  When you have a culture this interesting and fun, you want to make sure you know about it.  I think we all connect when we play in front of people.  We all participate and get together to really make an awesome performance.  Through all the hard work, I’m glad I got involved and joined samulnoree. 

Noella Kang, bio
Rolling Meadows, IL