Young composers add traditional music flavor to 20-year-old game

The National Orchestra of Korea, dedicated to contemporary interpretations of traditional Korean music, is bringing back a program gaining popularity among gamers -- the soundtracks of hit games reimagined using traditional Korean instruments.

Two previous collaborations with game developers were presented in the “Soso Music Concert” series, aimed at children and young people, featuring mobile games such as "Cookie Run: Kingdom" in 2021 and 2022, and "Crazyracing Kartrider" this year.

This time, the orchestra partnered with South Korean game developer AK Interactive to reimagine music from the game "The Great Merchant," a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that explores the cultural landscapes of Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and India.

For its third gaming collaboration, the NOK has taken the concept beyond the usual format of adapting familiar game soundtracks and performing them alongside game visuals. In this project, five composers reimagined the game’s background music and competed live on stage. Audience members cast real-time votes during the performance to determine the winner, with the top contender crowned “Best of The Great Merchant” and earning an encore performance.

Launched in 2002, the game immerses players in the late 16th century, a period marked by significant political and military upheaval in Northeast Asia. Players trade, battle and accumulate wealth to become the ultimate merchant.

The composers were randomly assigned fields from five game regions -- Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and India -- and tasked with composing music that suited their assigned regions.

In an interview last month, the composers said that they tried to add unique musical elements of each region into their compositions, ranging from the Japanese five-note miyako-bushi scale to the Chinese dog breed Chow Chow and Indian mythology.

"I hope the audience comes away realizing that fantasy can be brought to life through traditional Korean orchestral music,” said Sung Chan-kyung, representing the China region. Sung said his composition, the whimsical “Love-Struck Chow Chow,” was inspired by the indigenous Chinese dog breed.

For the Taiwan region, Jung Hyuk said he captured the awe of stepping onto unknown lands, using soundscapes to convey the majesty of nature as experienced by a tiny, curious presence in his composition “The Cliffed Isle."

Jang Tae-pyung will present “Blue Blue,” depicting the story of samurai and shrine maidens protecting the lush Blue Forest of Japan. To preserve the original music's distinct Japanese essence, Jang incorporated the traditional pentatonic miyako-bushi scale.

Hong Min-woong, tasked with the India region, said he drew on Hindu mythology in his composition, “The Breath of Myth,” highlighting the efforts of sacred beings to preserve balance and order in the universe.

"The music for India has a very mystical feel, so I wondered how I could make the most of it. I recalled that elements like culture, history and architecture were incorporated into the game, which inspired me to explore mythology as a theme. I decided to create a piece based on three prominent deities: Ravana, Vishnu and Shiva,” Jung explained.

Kang Han-moi, assigned to the Korea region, will present his piece, “Annyeong” -- meaning hello, good-bye or peace and well-being in Korean -- evoking nostalgia for long-time players by featuring melodies that have captivated users since the game’s release in 2002.

“I think the title should serve as a first step in conveying the imagery and themes of the piece to the audience in a concise way. That’s why I’ve paid extra attention to selecting the title this time. The title 'Annyeong' reflects the idea of the game -- how we greet and guide each other in the outside world and also say 'hello' when interacting in the game. Using this greeting as a medium, the music connects players from 20 years ago with today’s audience, continuing to share the sentiment of 'annyeong' through this musical journey."

Borrowing some parts from “Yeominrak,” a piece of Korean court music written by King Sejong the Great (1397-1450) to be enjoyed by the people, Kang said he wanted to wish today's gamers “peace and well-being."

The game developer also felt it necessary to add freshness to the game.

"Since we’ve been providing this service for about 20 years, we thought that the same game music being repeated could feel a bit monotonous for the users. So, starting around 10 years ago, we began collaborating with a number of traditional Korean music performers to create new renditions. These recordings were then directly incorporated into the game as replacements for the original soundtracks,” Chang Se-hoon, director at AK Interactive, said.

On Nov. 29 and 30, conductor Kim Yu-won, the first Korean recipient of the Robert Spano Conductor Prize at the Aspen Music Festival in 2014, will lead the performances. Ticket prices range from 20,000 won to 50,000 won.