The National Gugak Center will release two new tracks in its Game Sound Series created for TARAE: The Unbound and Goodbye Seoul: Itaewon on the 19th and 21st, respectively. The music will be available starting at 12:00 PM on each release date across major domestic and international music platforms.
These new tracks were freshly composed to fit the worldviews and characters of the two upcoming games. The Game Sound Series, which previously focused on arranging existing game music for traditional Korean instruments, has expanded its scope to include music production for new games. Music director Lee Ji-soo, known for his work on the films Oldboy and Architecture 101, participated in both tracks.
TARAE: The Unbound is an Eastern dark fantasy action RPG developed by Boundary and published by Krafton. It follows the adventures of six classes with distinct combat styles and traits on "Taeguido," an island created when the boundaries of the Six Realms collapsed.
The newly revealed track "Shadow of the Beast (Tiger Hunter Theme)" is the theme song for the "Chakhogapsa" (Tiger Hunters), telling the story of a leader living according to his late wife's last wishes. The song conveys the tension of battle through the rhythms of traditional Korean percussion instruments and melodies from the daegeum, piri, and taepyeongso. The emotions of loss and regret are expressed through the timbre of jeongga.
"Goodbye, Hello," created for Goodbye Seoul: Itaewon, was produced as background music for a new trailer. Using a combination of orchestra and traditional Korean instruments, it depicts the despair of a city facing end times and the protagonist's journey forward without losing hope.
Developed by JINO Games and published by NEOWIZ, Goodbye Seoul: Itaewon is a narrative puzzle adventure game that tracks down hidden truths in a Seoul with just six months left before an asteroid collision. It renders Seoul's scenery in 2.5D pixel art.
The National Gugak Center will also showcase game and webtoon music through live performances. On the 19th, it will perform game OSTs at the 2026 Game Culture Festival held in BEXCO Exhibition Center 2. On December 3, as part of the 2026 World Webtoon Festival, it will deliver a celebratory performance featuring traditional Korean OSTs for Myst, Might, Mayhem and Get Schooled at the 2026 World Webtoon Awards ceremony held at the Starfield Library in COEX.
Previously, in October, the National Gugak Center performed tracks from its Game Sound Series at the K-Music Festival held in London, UK. At the time, it performed traditional Korean instrument arrangements of music from Korean games such as Black Desert and Lies of P.
Seo Seung-mi, Director-General of the National Gugak Center, stated, "Traditional Korean music is a rich musical asset capable of capturing our unique emotions and stories," adding, "We hope this attempt enhances the originality of K-games and serves as an opportunity for our music to expand worldwide alongside K-content."
