Kkwaenggwari

   Kkwaenggwari, one of the many things I have learned after entering KMLA. Kkwaenggwari means a lot to me, as the instrument follows me like an adjective.



   My first encounter with Kkwaenggwari was, of course, Samuchim. At first, I disliked Kkwaenggwari, thinking it was hurting for the ears. However, my direct senior (직속 선배) played the Kkwaenggwari, and I wanted to follow his path. After signing up for Kkwaenggwari, I practiced the instrument until I got used to it and luckily, got picked for one of the four students who play Kkwaenggwari in Samuchim, which took a big part of my freshmen year.

  Samuchim was hard work; we had to practice for lots of hours, and I had sore ears and an aching back whenever we stopped practicing to eat dinner or go to honjeung. Still, playing Kkwaenggwari was lots of fun, not to mention I did not need to think of anything else that worried me, such as my test scores and performance assessments(수행평가), while playing it. Although I did joke around with my fellow members that I did not like practicing, Samuchim was one club I took pride in, as Samuchim was one of the most representative clubs in the school, and a lot of fun to have a place in. 

  Currently, my days of playing Kkwaenggwari for Samuchim have ended; I am now playing Kkwaenggwari for Minjok Orchestra. For Samuchim, I am sometimes attending the practices to see how the 24th wavers are doing. The 24th wavers will succeed in our place magnificently, and without a doubt, each waver will take place of the previous waver excellently. Even though taking place in Samuchim has ended, I still take pride in playing Kkwaenggwari for Minjok Orchestra. After all, if you think about it, I am the only 23rd waver to play the instrument on stage. Kkwaenggwari is one instrument I will never forget.