Kim Cheon-heong (; February 9, 1909 – August 18, 2007) was designated as the first ''

ingan-munhwage A Living National Treasure (인간 문화재; ingan munhwajae), literally meaning ''human cultural asset'', is a South Korean popular term for those individuals certified as Holders of Important Intangible Cultural Properties (중요 무형 문 ...

'' on 21 December 1968 for the ''

jongmyo jerye ''Jongmyo Jerye'' or ''Jongmyo Daeje'' is a rite held for worshipping the late kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty in Jongmyo Shrine, Seoul, South Korea. It is held every year on the first Sunday of May. The Jongmyo rite is usually accompanie ...

'' which is an Important Cultural Property of Korea. He was the master of ''

haegeum The ''haegeum'' () is a traditional Korean string instrument, resembling a vertical fiddle with two strings; derived from '' xiqin'', traditional Instrument of Xi people, which was introduced in Goryeo Dynasty through Northern Song. It has ...

'' and ''ilmu'' (hangul: 일무; hanja: 佾舞), which is a kind of Korean traditional dance during ''jongmyo jerye''.

Biography

Kim was born in Seoul, Korea. When he was 13, he started studying Korean traditional dance at the

Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

's royal music school (hangul: 이왕직아악부 아악생 양성소) in 1922. He was called "the last boy dancer" (hangul: 무동; hanja: 舞童) of the Joseon Dynasty because he performed at the last king,

Sunjong of the Korean Empire Sunjong, the Emperor Yunghui (; 25 March 1874 – 24 April 1926), was the second and the last Emperor of Korea, of the Yi dynasty, ruling from 1907 until 1910. Biography Crown Prince of Korea Sunjong was the second son of Emperor Gojong a ...

's 50th birthday celebration in 1923. He also learned ''haegeum'' and other Korean traditional musical instruments including the ''

ajaeng The ''ajaeng'' is a Korean string instrument. It is a wide zither with strings of twisted silk. It is played with a slender stick of forsythia wood that is drawn across the strings in the manner of a bow. The ''ajaeng'' mainly plays the bass pa ...

'' from the master Lee Sun-yong. He extended the Joseon Dynasty's royal dances to 40 types from an original 12 types. He died at the age of 98.

Career

* 1998 Honorary Chairman of the Performing Arts, Korea * 1992~1993 President of the Republic of Korea Academy of Arts, Theatre, Film, and Dance Division * 1983 Leader of

Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Korea The Intangible Cultural Heritage (, ''Muhyeong Munhwajae'') are aspects of intangible culture that the government of South Korea has officially designated for preservation in accordance with the 1962 Cultural Property Protection Law. They are p ...

Performing Arts Company * 1978 Member of The National Academy of Arts of the Republic of Korea * 1973 President of corporation Daeakhoe (hangul: 대악회) * 1961 Committee of Cultural Properties * 1955 Director of Kim Cheon-heong Classical Dance Institute * 1951 Research, Advisory Committee of the National Gugak Center * 1940 Music instructor at Ewha Woman's College, Oxford University, Hanyang University In 2002, he donated about 2000 resources on the

music of Korea Korea refers to music from the Korean peninsula ranging from prehistoric times to the division of Korea into South and North in 1945. It includes court music, folk music, poetic songs, and religious music used in shamanistic and Buddhist tradit ...

, which he had gathered for 80 years, to the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

where he had been a visiting professor.

Awards

* 1997 Bangilyoung Gukaksang * 1983 Korean Gukak * 1970 The Republic of Korea Academy of Arts * 1969 The Second Korea Culture Award * 1968 Cultural Preservation Achievement Award * 1960 Seoul City Culture Award

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Cheon-heong 1909 births 2007 deaths Hanyang University faculty South Korean musicians