A lot of pop music we listen to has its origins in traditional music. In this picture of a Korean and Japanese music festival, we can see some traditional instruments.

This is a Korean string instrument called haegeum. Because of its versatility, it is used in many traditional Korean musical genres.

Gayageum is the traditional Korean instrument that most K-Pop fans are familiar with because it features in many famous songs, like Ddaeng by BTS and Shagri-La by VIXX. It’s a long rectangle made of wood with 12 silk strings.

This traditional Japanese flute called shakuhachi is made of bamboo. Normally it has four finger holes and a thumbhole.

This Japanese instrument looks a bit like a guitar, right? Players hold it in a similar way and it’s also a string instrument, but the sound is very different! Samisen or shamisen has a small square body and three silk strings.