Pansori is a genre of musical storytelling performed by a vocalist and a drummer. This popular tradition, characterized by expressive singing, stylized speech, a repertory of narratives and gesture, subtle dancing and humor. I have even heard it referred to it as a rap opera which is a fitting and precise description.
The term Pansori is derived from the Korean words pan, meaning “a place where many people gather”, and sori meaning “song or sound”. Pansori originated in south-west Korea in the 1600s, probably as a new expression of the narrative songs of shamans. It remained an oral tradition among the common people until the late nineteenth century, by which time it acquired more sophisticated literary content and enjoyed considerable popularity among the urban elite. Of the twelve original stories called madang, only five remain as many were lost for various reasons.
Pansori gained popularity not purely for its beautiful aesthetics and music, but also its relevance to society. Some of the 12 madang referred to real events, like the song of the Battle of Red Cliff, while others spoke of fictional stories with relevant themes.
I was first exposed to Pansori about 20 years ago and fell in love with the moment I heard it. My wife was not exposed to it before and also became an avid fan. We have seen numerous performances over the years ranging from 10 minutes to 3 hours.
This year while visiting my in-laws we were fortunate to recently see the complete performance of the Pansori Chunhyangga.
Chunhyangga Plot
There once lived a woman named Wolmae who was a gisaeng, a form of governmental legal entertainers. Wolmae was a courtesan of one of the important officials in the city. She stayed with him until he moved to the capital. After this, she had a baby, a beautiful baby girl named Chunhyang. She raised her to be like a young woman from the aristocracy. So Chunhyang behaved like a princess, even though her family was poor. She was pretty, tactful and wrote poetry.
One morning, the son of Governor Lee Han Lim, a young man named Lee Mongryong, was walking with his servant in the fields to see some flowers. One, Master Yi Mongryong called His servant, Pangja, led him to a pavilion near a bridge called "Ojak-kyo," or the "Magpie Bridge." The view from the bridge was as beautiful as the summer sky. That is where he saw Chunhyang on a large swing and was captivated by her beauty and persona. The night after they met, he went to her house and asked her mother if he could marry Chunhyang. Her mother said that he should know that she was a gisaeng entertainer, and that they were poor.
Constricting traditions, however, prevented Mongryong from wedding until he passed the civil service exam. For a sweet, short while, the two lived a happy, peaceful existence while Mongryong studied for his exam.
After some time, Governor Lee Han Lim was promoted and moved to the capital with his wife and his son, Mongryong. The son cried and said goodbye to Chunhyang and promised to come back after passing the royal bureaucracy exam and becoming a respected civil servant. She promised to wait for him.
After the promotion, a new governor, Byeon Hak Do took over. He was a heavy drinker and a lustful man. He did not care about the people, and was obsessed to make Chunhyang his courtesan.
Chunhyang refused and told him that she was a pure woman, that she loved Mongryong and that she would never betray him. She told Hak Do that the "parish does not serve two kings, and also that a woman must not love two husbands."
So Hak Do went crazy, imprisoned her and ordered his soldiers to torture her. She persevered, endured and decided to hold on until her husband-to-be returned, or to die before that with her honor and dignity intact.
After a few months, just as Chunhyang was on the verge of death, Mongryong returned, with a respectful title as he had promised. Before ousting Hak Do and freeing several political prisoners, he disguised himself as a homeless man and approached Chunhyang to see how she would treat him. She was polite and kind, but made it very clear that she had only one true love. When Mongryong finally revealed himself, the two lovers kissed and embraced each other, rejoicing in their reunion. After correcting the wrong doings of Hak Do, Mongryong made Chunhyang his official bride and took her with him to Seoul, where the king rewarded Mongryong’s accomplishments with a promotion. They lived happily ever after so the story goes.
Recent Complete Performance Overview
My wife and I arrived at the National Gugak Center in Seoul the day of the concert. It was by invitation only, but we were fortunate to get tickets once we arrived with a request and a smile. The outside of the theater was adorned with about 30 large flower bouquets and there was a buzz in the air inside.
The performance started promptly at 1:30 pm with a short speech by a professor. The main performer, Go Hyang Im (고향임), then entered and said this was only the second time she has done the complete version of this Pansori and would try her best. Later we found out she was 63 years old!
I got the chills up and down my spine throughout the various scenes and the crowd was highly engaged cheering and clapping the entire time. There were five short breaks of 10 to 20 minutes each and during a couple, snacks such as rice cake, oranges and water were given. However, most of the 70 plus attendees stayed the entire time. During each break, the percussionist was changed with a new person.
At 11:15 p.m. the performance ended and the crowd erupted with applause. Her son came out from behind the curtain and carried her around the stage on his back. She thanked everyone for coming and said she wants to do this complete version again soon. Many of the people in the audience were from Daejeon where Go is also from, and would leave by bus shortly thereafter for a two hour ride home from Seoul.
There is no metaphor or simile that can express what we saw, but the closest thing I can describe is that we have seen sprints and short distance runs before, but this was a marathon and she brought home the gold! For anyone that has performed in public in any fashion, it is extremely difficult to not make a mistake for a 30 minute speech or performance let alone one that had an active time of almost 9 hours. There were a few occasions where Go needed a reminder word during the story telling chatter between songs, but that was it. Amazingly, another woman in the audience followed word by word throughout the entire performance and was right there to assist.
If I had to pick one moment of the performance that I enjoyed most was towards the end when the crowd sings along acting as farmers not pleased with the new governor. From start to finish though, the crowd was more engaged than I have ever seen and an audience of ~ 70 people reverberated with the applause and support of 700.
I hope you find this type of culture interesting and get the opportunity to see it if and when it comes to your location. See links below to a few places in both Seoul and NY.
There have been some new interpretations of Pansori in various performances including Shakespeare plays and some that fuse other musical styles such as jazz with Pansori. Various festivals are held in South Korea annually such as the Jeonju Sori festival which highlights this unique type of art form.
It is my wish that Pansori gets more exposure and those lost madangs can be restored.
If you enjoyed this article, please pass the torch and send it to someone else who may appreciate it.
Go and her son after he carried her on his back once the performance ended.
Concert hall from outside.
Multi-Media
Link to a short clip of a Chunhyangga performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pILCU6ol01w
Link to different style of paired Pansori competition (4 teams) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VNuqzcFoTA
Link to one movie version I enjoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvG8y3bNmgg
Article in Korean by journalist who interviewed me. http://www.koya-culture.com/news/article.html?no=121963
Cultural Centers and Concert Halls in Seoul and NY
National Gugak Center http://www.gugak.go.kr/site/main/index001
National Theater of Korea http://www.ntok.go.kr/
Korean Cultural Center of NY http://www.koreanculture.org/
Vincent L. Apa III
January 1, 2020