인천 지방의 民謠考

A study on the folk song of Inchon province

1. Summary The folk songs gathered in this field research are analyzed according to the function and the theme. The results drawn from their distribution, content and form are as follows : First, in the aspect of the distribution, 4 folk songs for the adult and 14 for the child are gathered, but only 2 for the adult and 8 for the child of them are printed in this study, This amount is less than that of any other district. The reason is that the folk songs here seem to have disappeared in the whirlpool of civilization of a big city, Inchon, close by Seoul. Second, in the aspect of the content, 2 funeral songs are gathered. Their themes are to lament transient life and to praise filial duty. As to the aspect of the thought, they are drenched in nihilism and optimism and shamanism. The folks seem to be characteristic of the optimist. Third, in the aspect of the form, the main rhythms are dimetric 4,4 syllabic for the adult and dimetric 3,4 syllabic for the child, but trimeter is an important meter shown up repeatedly. As to the aspect of the composition, adult s folk songs are composed of a series of stanzas, whereas child s folk songs are composed of a single stanza. As to the aspect of the manner, adult s folk songs are sung In the manner in which one person s question is followed by the answer in chorus, whereas child s songs are sung in chorus or in solo. 2. Conclusion This field research has a poor harvest in gathering folk songs and good folk songs as well. The reason is that the district is a big city where few human resources enjoy and hand down traditional culture like folk songs. This follows from the fact that the development of mass communication and machine civilization results in the extiction of oral tradition. This research shows that it is difficult for the college alone to collect data of oral tradition. So it is suggested that the government take a proper measure promptly for collecting and preserving oral tradition.