Jotae is recorded as "Hoengjok" (transverse flute) in old books.

At that time, jotae was made with bamboo consisted of one mouthpiece and six holes.

Jotae is characterized by gentle, soft, attractive and elegant tone.

It was regarded as mysterious instrument in the period of Koguryo (B.C. 277-A.D. 668) as it produced "beautiful sound of sky".

And it was widely used not only in Royal Court but also in the folk during the feudal Joson dynasty (1392-1910).

Hundreds of pieces of music for jotae were created and many famous fifers produced in the past.

In the 1970s, high-pitched tone jotae and middle-pitched tone jotae came into being in the course of developing national musical instruments suited to the requirement of the times.

Today, jotae plays an important role in instrumental concert and the mixed orchestra of the Juche type.