Novelist Han Kang recently won South Korea＊s first Nobel Prize in literature, joining K-pop and K-dramas as the country＊s first K-literary achievement. Korea＊s cultural flower is blooming and the country is showing itself as a cultural powerhouse. In this trend, interest and admiration for pansori, an intangible cultural heritage of mankind, is also growing. In addition to traditional pansori, young singers have been performing their own creative pansori based on tradition on video platforms, capturing the eyes and ears of the world. This has been made possible by the hard work and love of many national musicians, researchers, and enthusiasts.

World Pansori Festival, an exciting mix of foreigners and citizens 

The World Pansori Festival was held on November 1-3. It was held for the second time this year and was jointly organized by the World Pansori Association and Namsangol Hanok Village. The festival received a great response from domestic and foreign participants and citizens, as various stages were organized to promote Korean pansori to the world while blending tradition and modernity. Master singer Kim Soo-yeon, a holder of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage, sang the original Sugunga, and pansori busking with three different themes was also held. The Acoustic Breeze Stage featured traditional pansori and gayageum(zither) performances without sound equipment. Gwangju Intangible Cultural Property mster singer Lee Young-ae also performed a Gayageum Byeongchang. The Electronic Blitz Stage featured powerful bands, electronic sounds, theater, dance, and pansori. The Hybrid Dream Stage featured traditional pansori relays by children and youth. The festival featured performances by the World Pansori Choir, SoeulSoripan, Choi Joon-X Jang Jae-hyo Duo, and Bae Ik-han Jazz Orchestra, and the band leader and vocalist of sEODo, the winner of JTBC’s Pungryu Daesang, who performed a Korean pop song that combines pansori and POP. For citizens and foreigners who are new to Pansori, there was also a Ulseegu School, a make-your-own-fan, and a lantern-making program. World Pansori Association President Chae Su-jeong said Thanks to the support of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Samsung Culture Foundation, and the Korea MESENA Association, we are able to present a richer and more diverse program at the festival.”

K-Pansori, created with the support and affection of Seoul and enterprises

Pansori, which originated around the 17th century, was designated as a National Intangible Cultural Property No. 5 in the 1960s, after being practiced throughout the late Joseon Dynasty and the Japanese occupation. In 2003, Pansori was designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in recognition of its tradition, artistry, and universal value as a cultural art of humanity. The World Pansori Association was founded in 2022 by a group of national musicians, researchers, and enthusiasts to promote pansori to the world and establish it as a music enjoyed by a wider audience. The association is leading the way in popularizing pansori through standardization and overseas education, exchanging with domestic and foreign musicians, and its base by holding various pansori concerts. The World Pansori Festival is an opportunity to realize the goal of popularizing and globalizing pansori and to convey the artistry and depth of pansori to foreigners visiting Korea. The support of local governments and companies is a great source of strength for the association. Namsangol Hanok Village is the best place to experience traditional Korean culture. The beauty of the hanoks and the traditional atmosphere create a special atmosphere, making it the perfect place for pansori to naturally communicate with the audience, and it is easily accessible from the center of Seoul.

Creating infrastructure for global popularization and training pansori teachers overseas

Chae said “What attracts foreigners to pansori is the intense emotional expression and storytelling. It vividly conveys the joys and sorrows of human beings, and the way the performers tell stories through their facial expressions and gestures is fascinating to foreigners. The universal emotions and stories contained in the sounds can resonate emotionally across nationalities and cultures. We need to strengthen translation and explanation work to make the lyrics and emotions of pansori easier for foreigners to understand, and continue to develop and communicate the artistic value of pansori as a cultural content. To promote pansori globally, it is important to establish a permanent space such as a theater dedicated to pansori for continuous performances, create an environment where foreigners can enjoy pansori like Broadway in New York, and develop programs linked to tourism. Our goal is to make the World Pansori Festival the flagship cultural festival that comes to mind when one thinks of traditional Korean culture. We are considering holding the festival overseas as well as domestically, and will develop it into a platform that promotes exchanges between various cultures.” By 2025, the Association aims to produce pansori instructors with the capacity to teach effectively abroad through systematic training. Chae said “We plan to expand our international pansori workshops and exchange programs to provide more opportunities for foreigners who want to learn pansori locally. We want to fuse with different cultures and contribute to the establishment of pansori as a global art form.”