ABSTRACT
The reconstruction of kugak’s meaning in contemporary Korean society involves diminishment of old sociocultural associations and reintegration of kugak into twenty-first-century social imaginings. This chapter argues that an integration of design, sonic sensation, metaphoric framing, and physical experience have played a major role in authenticating the process of kugak’s revaluing. It considers the kugak concert stage as a realm wherein ‘deconstruction of space and time’ and reconstruction transpire through physical and acoustic design framing devices. The chapter spotlights a selected few Seoul-based performance spaces, demonstrating the ways by which venues draw performers and audience alike into an interpretive performance space, reinforcing their contributions to a Korean socio-historic sonic experience. The natural wood floors and beams accentuate the desired sound balance for ‘our tradition, which emphasizes the bass and absorbs the treble sonorities’. Wood intended to mimic the acoustic strength of a traditional hanok was replaced by less-expensive panelling.
