The Ureuk World Music House project has been an initiative to restore a traditional Korean lord's house, hanok, as a music center. The restored house is open to the public, so local and international guests alike can experience an immersion into live world music and culture.
The house is dedicated to Ureuk, a 6th century founding father of Korean Traditional Music. Ureuk's legacy yearns to live on through the changing times in a meaningful way. In the music house people can come together, like a family coming home, to be embraced by music and tradition. It is estimated that less than .01 percent of children in Chungju have stepped foot into a traditional Korean home, and that the same percentage of university students in Chungju never been to a concert of traditional music! With the introduction of this community arts center into the town, people have the unique opportunity to step into a traditional Korean lord's house (few of which remain) to experience traditional Korean music up close in a natural setting that adds to the music.
On-going concerts and lessons are offered by Korean musicians, and international musicians "in-residence" in the spring and fall. The Music House is, in essence, a Global Community Arts Center, where all the senses can be pleasantly inundated at once as people ~ listen to music, look at the beauty of the traditional house, smell the sweetness of the surrounding fields, and taste the healing warmth of traditional teas. People can step back in time, deeply experiencing the beauty of musical traditions and culture, and meaningfully interacting as a community. It is a place for people to see the world without having to fly. Local musicians and world musicians can enjoy co-creating music, inspired by the joy and excitement of coming together in a beautiful natural setting.
The Ureuk World Music House is on the outskirts of Chungju's picturesque city in North Chung-Cheong Province. Chungju is known for its dazzling scenery; a combination of mountains, rivers, and the Chungju Lake. Chungju has a warm, rural feeling, yet connected by highways and public transport, is only an hour and a half from Seoul. The house is close to the Korean National University of Transportation.
The Ureuk World Music House is on a narrow road that winds beside a babbling brook. The home is set in front of a verdant hillside, it overlooks bright green rice fields (which are golden in the fall), and sits next to a large apple orchard. Step through the wooden entrance gate into a lush embracing scene, where the covered stage is the focal point below the ornately tiled roof. Breathe in the freshness of the air, listen as the birds join in the resounding notes of the instruments, and feel the amazing depth of centuries of Korean arts culture alive and glorious!
