[iNews24 reporter Kim Yang-geun] Seong Yu-mi, an arts-and-culture educator at the Geumgadeul Sori Transmission Center in Sunchang County, North Jeolla Province, has won an Encouragement Award in a traditional Korean children's song competition hosted by the National Gugak Center.
According to the county, Seong wrote and composed Where Did the White Rice Come From? and received the National Gugak Center Director's Award at the awards ceremony on the 30th of last month at Umyeondang, part of the National Gugak Center in Seoul, for the 40th Creative Gugak Children's Song Contest.
Judges praised Where Did the White Rice Come From? for explaining the rice-planting process at a child's level and for adapting traditional field songs into a modern melody that naturally conveys the labor and value behind a single bowl of rice.
Seong majored in geomungo at Chonnam National University's Department of Gugak and is currently enrolled in a master's program in cultural management and tourism at the same university's graduate school.
Before joining the transmission center, she taught the Sunchang Youth Rainbow Gugak Orchestra. In 2024 she won the top prize in the instrumental general division at the 35th Mokpo National Gugak Competition.
The winning recording was produced as part of Anthology of Gugak Children's Songs Vol. 37 and released on streaming platforms; it is also available through the National Gugak Center's music archive. This year's winners set usage terms that allow anyone to use the works freely.
Seong said, \"Working with the Geumgadeul Sori transmission process deeply moved me; I was struck by the vitality of our farming songs. I'm honored to help share Sunchang's important traditional agricultural heritage.\" She added, \"Thanks to the encouragement from Sunchang County and the Geumgadeul Sori preservation members, I was able to create this piece with pride.\"
A total of 115 entries competed in the contest, and judges selected 12 final winners that best incorporated elements of traditional music and creative lyrics.
The grand prize went to Jeon Min's Paldo Melody Journey. Excellence awards went to Yang Ji-hye's Hoihoi Sumbisori and Kang Su-a's One Two Three, Kimchi. Including Seong’s piece, nine works received Encouragement Awards.
