This article examines the Korean musicology, developed in Japan since
 1945, by period and the the results by field.
 During the Japanese colonial period, Japanese research on Korean music
 was actively conducted in relation to the ruling policy of the Japanese
 Government-General of Korea, but after the defeat in World War II, research
 on Korean music decreased significantly. Therefore, the period from 1945 to
 1965 can be called the ‘gap period’ of the Korean musicology in Japan.
 In the 1970s, as Ethnomusicology grew significantly in Japan, Korean music
 research was conducted as part of it. Master's and doctoral theses on Korean
 music were published, related research also surged, and the Goryeoak
 yeonguhoe (Komagaku Research Society) was established (1976) beginning
 regular academic exchanges between scholars from the two countries.
 Therefore, the period from 1966 to the 1970s can be called the growth
 period of the Korean musicology in Japan.
 In the 1980s, in-depth research was conducted through long-term fieldwork
 and study abroad, and the number of studies increased significantly due to
 academic activities of various generations. Two research books, Song of
 Arirang and the Study of Sound were published, and six articles on Korean
 music were included in a collection related to Asian music, strengthening the
 status of Korean music research in Japan. In addition, high-quality academic
 exchanges between music scholars from both countries continued by the
 Komagaku Research Society. Therefore, the 1980s can be called the
 establishment period of the Korean musicology in Japan.
 The 1990s was a time when the research field expanded significantly, and
 research results came out in all fields except court music. In particular, it is noteworthy that research on the history of music during the Joseon Dynasty
 and modern music began. Although the number of studies has decreased
 compared to before, in terms of diversity in research, it can be said that the
 Korean musicology has entered a stable period during this period.
 In the 2000s, the number of studies decreased even more than before. This
 is because academic activities were centered around the third-generation
 researchers. Therefore, this period can be viewed as a stagnation period or
 period of generational change in the Korean musicology in Japan. It is
 noteworthy that while there was no articles on folk songs and instruments
 that had been studied steadily before, modern music history increased
 dramatically (12 articles) compared to the previous period (1 article).
 Since 2010, research results have increased significantly, the number of
 researchers has increased, and the publications in Korean journals (in Korean)
 have increased, marking a period of significant quantitative and qualitative
 development in Korean music research. Therefore, this can be called the
 prosperity period of the Korean musicology in Japan.
 It has been confirmed that Korean music research has been conducted in
 all fields in Japan since 1945. A total of 190 studies were conducted, with the
 most popular field being folk music (53), followed by music history (49) and
 musical instruments (32), followed by general theory (17), music style (14),
 music exchange (11), royal music (6), and etc (8). This is in contrast to the
 intensive publication of articles on court music in Japanese colonial period.
 The reason why so many studies on folk music seems to be the result of
 active research using ethnomusicological approach to collecting data through
 fieldwork while the reason why the study of modern music history has
 increased rapidly since 2000 may be because of interest in the special
 situation of the Japanese colonial period and materials written in Japanese in
 this period, which easily accessible to Japanese researchers.
Search from 250 M+ research papersSearch from 250 M+ research papers
Open Access
Nov 1, 2023
Brecht Guillemyn + 15
