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The Story of Chunhyang Through the Melodious Medium of Pansori
Gwangju News, May 2022
gwangjunewsgic.com
CULTURE & ARTS
By Diane Dooley
WHAT IS PANSORI? Pansori is probably one of the most well-known “traditional” Korean art forms outside of Korea, commonly referred to as “Korean opera.” (Or, more likely these days, K-Opera!) Pansori is an oral narrative and has been popular amongst Koreans since its inception in the seventeenth century. It was originally performed by singers known as kwangdae in rural villages or marketplaces. Today, it is even performed in large concert halls to considerably larger audiences. A pansori performance involves only two performers: a singer (kwangdae) and a drummer (kosu). This simplicity meant that it could be performed virtually anywhere. Traditionally, the singer would recount a tale from the twelve-work repertoire (madang), such as The Song of Chunhyang. Pansori singers vary both rhythm and melody to reflect changes in circumstance and atmosphere as the story develops, as well as a character’s emotional state. Alternating between sung and spoken passages, pansori is an excellent example of a multimodal narrative art form. Pansori is believed to have developed from shaman songs, which are long oral narratives mixing spoken passages and singing. Research has noted that shaman songs and pansori narratives (from our very own Jeolla-do!) are often identical or are at least very similar in terms of the techniques used and structure. However, shaman songs are intrinsically “sacred.” The main character is a shamanist deity who possesses special powers. Importantly, shaman songs serve religious and spiritual purposes. Pansori, on the other hand, are oral narratives
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that realistically depict the problems arising in commoners’ daily lives. Thus, the worldview of pansori revolves around everyday life. In pansori performances, colloquial speech, for example, was sometimes used to explain the plot and parts of the dialogue. As such, pansori performances are often incredibly long – a full performance of The Song of Chunhyang can take up to seven or eight hours! SIGNIFICANCE OF PANSORI It is often argued that the origin of Korean literature as it exists today can be traced back to pansori. As pansori became fixed narratives, circulating as reading materials, they created a readership for pansori fiction and contributed significantly to the development of realistic depictions of the commoner’s social conditions during the Joseon period. Pansori’s establishment as a separate art form can be traced to social changes during the late Joseon period. Namely, the disruption of the Confucian idea of order and the simultaneous growth of the commoner class. Both acted to secularize shamanism, resulting in the belief that problems experienced by people in their daily lives could be affected by shamanist incantations weakened considerably. In summary, a demand for a more realistic and engaging art form grew exponentially during this period. Pansori was very simply in its early stages, and its function was entertainment (unlike shaman songs, which served a spiritual and religious function),
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