KOMUNGO

also called Kum, zitherlike musical instrument of Korea, invented in the 7th century AD by Korean musician Wang San-ak, and corresponding to the Chinese ch'in and Japanese koto. There are three movable bridges and 16 convex frets supporting the six silken strings. These are plucked with a pencil-size bamboo stick. An ensemble instrument played at court, the komungo has traditionally been played using a pentatonic scale without semitones. A special notation with symbols is used not only for pitch and duration but also for fingering.