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“The LIVINGROOM Project” is a project that experiments with different genres of music to discover how they may coexist. The first performance of the project was held at My Allée Itaewon in November 2023 under the subtitle “Extended Samul Nori.” With a focus on Samul Nori, and John Cage’s philosophy of music, this first presentation hoped to illustrate how philosophies of music may be similar, communicating that fundamentally, people’s approach and consideration of music worldwide are in harmony with each other.

The idea for “Extended Samul Nori” branched from the realization that the idea behind Samul Nori and John Cage’s “Living Room Music” share similarities in that they both are attempts to bring music closer to the masses physically and emotionally. Samul Nori, for instance, brought Korea’s Pungmulnori closer to the modern audience by developing the traditional style to better suit modern Koreans. Cage’s “Living Room Music” reflects a similar idea as the piece shows how music can be made with everyday objects. Expanding upon this idea, the “LIVINGROOM Project” attempted to intermix the two styles to show how, although countries may have different cultures, there may ultimately be a universal culture of music that rings with audiences of all backgrounds.

The final product was a rendition of Samul Nori performed in a house, repurposed to become an area for experimenting with culture and arts. The performance used everyday objects instead of Korean percussion instruments, following the structure of Cage’s “Living Room Music.” The first movement, “To Begin,” had performers come into the room disguised as the audience and suddenly start playing something akin to Cage’s first movement but with elements of Samul Nori using objects in the room. The second movement, “Story,” was delivered through a video. The videos were screened in multiple places to highlight the idea that music and art are all around us, including on the walls and in front of the toilet seat. The third movement, “Melody,” featured three percussionists and a pianist. The pianist played the melody of Cage’s “Suite for Toy Piano,” and the three percussionists provided background music using large vases. Finally, the performers who played the first movement gathered again to perform traditional Samul Nori using everyday objects for the fourth movement, “End.”

Apart from the project’s aim of showing harmony in music, it also attempted to showcase the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration. As such, the project brought together participants from different disciplines, which helped create a high-quality piece that allowed participants to inspire each other. To elaborate, while musicians studying music theory suggested methods of smoothly intermixing the musicality of the two styles, the participants who studied fashion introduced ideas that projected the musical philosophy onto the performers’ outfits, elaborately fusing Korean and Western designs.

The project has demonstrated the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration, emphasizing the synergy between music and various fields of study. This initial presentation heralds forthcoming research endeavours and experimentation.