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Through an analysis of these exhibits with a special focus on the kinds of stories they portrayed to the public, whose stories were chosen to be told, and how artifacts and oral histories contribute to the narrative of what it is to be Korean American today, I will introduce the elements of ethnographic chapters.
The first of four ethnographic chapters examines how pungmul music contributed to how young people of Korean descent relate to the community around them and draw boundaries in response to larger social constructs. To understand Mae-ari’s mission, it is important to understand the history of pungmul in both cultural and political contexts. Pungmul is Korean farm music that is believed to be several thousand years old. Based on shamanistic interpretations of nature, the instruments themselves are rendering of natural and agricultural phenomena. Pungmul was played on important annual events like Jishinbalpgi (the Lunar New Year celebration translated as “stepping on the spirits of the earth”) and harvest festivals, but also for encouraging workers during farming. More recently in the, 1980s, Korean student activists began using pungmul as a back-to-our-farm-roots movement to protest the oppressive South Korean martial government. While many pungmul groups in the United States are based in colleges, Korean American activist organizations have pungmul groups as well. Mae-ari started as part of an activist organization, although political involvement has changed since its inception. Therefore, part of being in this group is learning culture but also getting involved in homeland politics. One of the missions of the group is to “discuss and act on different social, cultural, political, and economic issues impacting on our communities” (Mae-ari, mission statement, January 18, 2002). Determining how we define our communities is a source of extensive discussions debates.
The second ethnographic chapter focuses on representation of ethnic identity through clothing. Wearing minbok, the traditional garb associated with pungmul, during public performances has created an image of the cultural troupe as folk performers. Over the years, the group members devised ways of overturning this image by creating hybrid images that challenged the assumption of tradition and representation of Koreanness.