Jocelyn Clark is an accomplished musician, ethnomusicologist and educator known for her expertise in Korean folk music and the gayageum, a traditional Korean instrument. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Juneau, Alaska, she began her musical journey by studying various Asian instruments during her time as an exchange student in Japan, China and Korea. She has since accumulated over 30 years of experience playing the gayageum.
Not long ago, I was invited to visit the Ureuk World Music House in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, on a sunny autumn afternoon in rural Korea where local mountains, rice paddy fields and scattered houses have coexisted for centuries. The Music House is dedicated to Master Ureuk, a renowned musician from the sixth century said to be the founder of Korean music, who was exiled to Chungju where he created the gayageum, a Korean 12-string instrument.