The following happened in September Juche 51 (1962) when Chairman Kim Jong Il joined military manoeuvres at a military campsite in Oun-dong during his days at Kim Il Sung University.
One day, he saw a new musical instrument made by his fellow students, and spoke highly of their painstaking efforts for the manufacture of a new kind of musical instrument.
They asked him to name it.
After thinking for a while, he said as follows: It would be significant to call it Oungum (a stringed instrument) as it was made in the valley of Oun-dong. If it is called Oungum, our students would have a sense of pride in making it during the military manoeuvres, though it was yet to be given the finishing touch.
This is how Oungum was born as a national stringed instrument with clear tone and rich volume. Today, it is used in playing solo, ensemble, concert and mixed orchestral pieces.
