Minah Jung

Born

1979-01-31

Birthplace

Seoul, South Korea

Biography

Jung started learning to play the gayageum, a traditional Korean string instrument, at 12 years old. She said it became a big part of her life, so she continued to play it as she developed her music career. She found the instrument when she started taking traditional Korean dance in elementary school. From her second year in middle school she started lessons with a neighborhood teacher, then studied at Gukak National High School, Hanyang University, and Sookmyung Women's University. She worked in Hongdae for five years, becoming popular as a fusion indie musician, known as the first with a gayageum to perform there on a regular basis. She uses a 25-string variant of the original 12-string gayageum, to give variations in the range of notes, and incorporates her Western music theory and jazz training in her compositions.