This time for the monthly colloqium there were two presentations at the session of the Contemporary Korean Music Research Colloquium.

Professor Heo Yoonjung of Seoul National University started the conference with a presentation titled "Korean Traditional Music in the World – The Geomungo in the Global Era". She traced the long history of the geomungo and dissected its performance practices in different musical genres of the 21st century. Thanks to clear pictures and clips, the audience could instantly understand the contemporary potential of the instrument, which goes beyond traditional techniques and includes modern and fusion styles.

Next, Professor Kwon Hyunseok from Hanyang University gave a talk titled "Glimpsing Korean Society through Popular Music Research – The Case of the Drama 'Squid Game"'. His lecture focused on the analysis of class-based sonic hierarchies in popular culture through the study of internal and external music of Squid Game to reveal the sonic power structures that underlie the capitalist Korean society. He explained how sound serves as a vehicle for social desire and class representation.

These two presentations of the two professors from different fields and backgrounds reached out to each other via Korean music research, presenting multifarious directions. The lively debate after the presentations reflected the variety of views and confirmed the colloquium's function as a stage for the broad and changing range of contemporary musical discourse.