A Study on the Formation and Cultural Meaning of Gyobang Culture

In Korea’s traditional culture, art culture related to Gyobang remains rich and diverse and has been handed down. Jeongjae (呈才), a comprehensive art that combines music and dance, was performed by Gisaengs belonging to Jangakwon or Gyobang, and many traditional songs, including Gagokchang (Sijo) in classical 典 poetry 歌, were also performed mainly by Gisaeng’s singing (歌唱). We have the results of the creation of female Gisaengs and musicians, who were in charge of art from the Gyobang of the Goryeo Dynasty to the modern Kwonbeon. In this way, it is ‘Gyobang culture’ that preserves its value and historicity by accumulating such knowledge and information through Gyobang. Until now, the sijo and lyrics in the Gyobang space have been approached by dividing them into Korean literature, dance and Jeongjae (呈才) into dance studies, vulgar music into music studies, and other folklore. Therefore, a more comprehensive and three-dimensional approach to Gyobang culture is now needed. In this respect, it is necessary to avoid the simple interpretation of the past and think about the Gyobang culture from a more three-dimensional and comprehensive aspect. The strong vitality and continuity of Gyobang culture is difficult to explain simply by the succession discourse of the conscious and intentional cultural delivery system. The possibility that certain cultural elements are inherent in it cannot be excluded. The reason Gyobang culture can maintain its name for a long time is that it has its own unique discriminatory specificity. Gyobang culture has the basis and convergence aspects of realization and modernity of aesthetic consciousness, self-realization and modernity through artistic achievement, discovery of original stories. In addition, cultures tend to be enjoyed differently depending on the subject in charge of culture. The core cultural codes of the time were hidden in Gyobang culture, and by flexibly reading the trends of the times, they transformed, imitated, changed, and developed within them. This provides a clue to further materialize the diversity of Gyobang culture. Gyobang culture must now be reborn as familiar content that the times can sympathize with and communicate with.