[News Culture] Pansori has been passed down through generations as a distinctive form of Korean musical storytelling, bringing together a singer, a drummer and an audience through narratives rooted in everyday life and human emotion. Preserving that tradition remains essential, but its future also depends on creating opportunities for younger generations and people from different cultural backgrounds to learn, perform and engage with the art form.
The World Pansori Association will explore these possibilities at its fifth-anniversary concert, One Voice, One Dream, bringing together traditional pansori, newly composed choral music, changgeuk (Korean musical theater) and regional folk songs. With international singers taking an active role in the performances, the December program places particular emphasis on cultural exchange through shared musical practice and creative interpretation.
A central feature of the concert is the premiere of Gisaeng Jeomgo, a new changgeuk production performed by 10 international singers from countries including the United Kingdom, China, the United States, Japan, France and Russia. The work draws on an episode from Chunhyangga, one of the five surviving classical pansori narratives, and reimagines a scene involving the roll call of gisaeng, female professional entertainers in traditional Korean society. Through singing and acting, the international cast will bring its own interpretation to the characters and humor of the Korean classic.
The production represents more than an opportunity for international performers to demonstrate their proficiency in Korean traditional music. Working together on a single theatrical piece requires the singers to engage with the narrative, musical structure and dramatic conventions of pansori, drawing on their different linguistic and cultural experiences. Their participation reflects an approach to international exchange in which artists from outside Korea contribute directly to the interpretation of its traditional repertoire.
Changgeuk provides a particularly suitable setting for this collaboration. Whereas conventional pansori relies on one singer to narrate a story and portray multiple characters, changgeuk assigns roles to different performers, combining music with theatrical characterization. The international ensemble's interpretation of Chunhyangga will therefore offer a perspective on both the musical and dramatic qualities of the tradition.
The concert's central theme is also expressed in One Voice, One Dream, an original pansori choral composition. The work brings together singers with distinct vocal styles to create a unified musical performance, reflecting the idea that individual artistic identities can coexist within a shared creative experience. Its emphasis on collective expression complements the international changgeuk production and the association's wider commitment to cooperation across cultural boundaries.
Traditional repertoire remains an equally important part of the program. Selections representing the five classical pansori narratives will introduce the vocal techniques, rhythmic patterns and storytelling conventions that define the genre. These performances establish a connection between the inherited musical tradition and the contemporary interpretations presented elsewhere in the concert, allowing audiences to experience the different approaches side by side.
The program also includes Namdo-ui Sagye (The Four Seasons of Namdo), a medley of southern Korean folk songs inspired by the changing seasons. Through regional melodies and musical expressions associated with nature and everyday life, the piece introduces another dimension of Korea's traditional vocal culture. Together, the pansori, changgeuk and folk-song performances illustrate the range of musical and theatrical expression within Korean traditional arts.
Community engagement is another element of the anniversary event. The association will present a free performance for invited firefighters, police officers, military personnel, healthcare professionals, caregivers, sanitation workers, veterans and their families or guests. Invitations will be arranged through advance reservations coordinated with relevant institutions and organizations. The initiative is intended to recognize those who contribute to public safety and community well-being while bringing traditional music into closer contact with everyday social life.
Over the past five years, the World Pansori Association has undertaken educational and performance initiatives aimed at preserving pansori and broadening participation in the tradition. Its activities include the Ojakgyo Project: Today's Small Pansori Class, which introduces Korean residents and international learners to the genre, a 100-day intensive practice support program for emerging singers, and scholarships for young performers.
The association has also organized the World Pansori Festival, creating opportunities for Korean and international singers and audiences to meet through performances and cultural exchange. These efforts reflect a broader view of preservation, one that encompasses not only the transmission of established techniques but also the development of new participants and audiences.
The international development of traditional arts involves more than presenting performances overseas. It also requires opportunities for people from different cultural backgrounds to study the repertoire, participate in its creative processes and develop their own understanding of its artistic conventions. By bringing 10 international singers together for Gisaeng Jeomgo, the association is exploring how pansori can retain its musical and narrative identity while welcoming new perspectives.
The fifth-anniversary concert brings these priorities together, connecting traditional performance, contemporary creation, international collaboration and community participation within a single program.
One Voice, One Dream will take place on December 26 at Yeakdang Hall of the National Gugak Center in Seoul. Organized and presented by the World Pansori Association, the concert is supported by the Seoul Metropolitan Government's traditional music event support program, Jeil Medical Corporation, Samsung Foundation of Culture, Korea Mecenat Association and Arts Council Korea.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
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