Korean trad fans eagerly await the arrival of west Kerry trad master

THE world might be looking toward North Korea in trepidation right now, but certain musicians in South Korea have their gaze fixed firmly on the western horizon.

Players of traditional Irish music in Seoul await the arrival of West Kerry, accordion player, Breandán Ó Beaglaoich in early November. Concertina players, Seulki Ko and Soomee Han had no trouble enticing over Mr Begley.

How did two young Koreans become infused with a passion for Irish music that has culminated in Brendan Begley’s visit to Seoul?

Soomee was given a tin whistle by her Irish colleague, Martin Humphreys before he returned home from Seoul in 2010. Although she already played the piano, she found the whistle easier to haul to the local Irish session. Subsequently, in the summer of 2014, while attending Noreen O’Sullivan’s tin whistle workshop in Sligo, she became enamored of the sweet-sounding concertina. Until recently she has been dividing her time primarily between both whistle and concertina.

Like Soomee, Seulki also plays concertina and finds it perfect for busking with her band, Jig n Reel. The band is currently down to four members, so there is plenty of room for Brendan Begley to squeeze in for a few tunes.

Seulki’s first introduction to the music of Brendan Begley was in 2015 at his concert in Dingle. Meanwhile, Soomee subsequently met him in 2016 on Achill Island where he graciously invited her and her group of international friends to join him on a trip to Inishbiggle.

With Irish music’s tendency to blossom out in delightful directions on relatively recently-introduced instruments such as the guitar, the bouzouki, etc., I asked Soomee and Seulki if they had ever attempted Irish music on any Korean instruments, or if they would be putting any Korean instruments into the hands of Mr. Begley.

There may be as many as 100 traditional Korean instruments, including a type of six-stringed harp, the geo-mun-go which dates back to the fourth century AD (if mural paintings of the Anak tombs in North Korea are anything to go by).

Soomee confesses her head has recently been turned not by the ancient geo-mun-go but by the Celtic harp. However, both she and Seulki agree that perhaps the twostringed hae-geum might best lend itself to Irish music.

Mr. Begley will be very busy with his concerts and sean-nós workshops in Korea. He may not have time to put down his accordion and pick up a hae-geum. Indeed, it is unlikely either that he will feel any political tremors from Pyongyang with all the pounding of feet to slides and polkas.

However, if exotic instruments start popping up in sessions around Kerry, enchanted listeners might be forgiven for suspecting that they originated in Goguryeo (ancient North Korea) and date back over 1,600 years.

The great Brendan Begley, below, and, above, some of his many South Korean fans - including Patricia Jones fourth from left at back, eagerly awaiting his arrival there.