Yoona Kim

Yoona Kim | 김유나

Title: Ajaeng Performer

Affiliation: Modern Gagok

Location: Boston, MA, USA

Bio

Yoona Kim is a Boston-based ajaeng performer and composer who reimagines the Korean bowed zither beyond its traditional boundaries. Rooted in the temporal sensibility and sonic character of Korean traditional music, she translates blues, old- time, jazz, free improvisation, noise, and avant-garde practices through the voice of ajaeng. Her sound moves fluidly between deep emotional resonance and raw intensity, balancing grounded rhythm with spontaneous abstraction. Rather than treating ajaeng as a relic of the past, Kim approaches it as a living instrument capable of evolving across cultures and eras. Her performances carve out their own sense of time and space—at once resolute and delicate. Active across both traditional and experimental communities in the United States and Korea, she continues to expand the narrative of ajaeng, positioning it not within a single genre but as an ever-shifting spectrum of contemporary expression.

Email: kimuna91@gmail.com

Website: https://www.yoonakim.org/

---