Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Putting modern spin on 'pansori'
.jpg?w=728)
Lee Ja-ram, second from left, a young artist generating interest for her contemporary interpretation of “pansori,” the traditional narrative song genre, practices with bandmates at a studio at the Doosan Art Center in Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Lee Ja-ram is called a prodigy of "pansori," a traditional narrative song performed by a singer and drummer. While the form is centuries old, the 35-year-old never shies away from pushing its boundaries.
Lee, who surprised the world with her pansori rendition of Bertolt Brecht classics, is back at it again. This time she is the artistic director and composer behind a pansori re-imagining of the short stories of author Chu Yo-sup.
The show, titled "Chu Yo-sup's Ugly Woman/Murder" will be staged at Doosan Art Center's Space 111 later this week. Based on two separate stories, it is highly anticipated because it brings a modern edge not only to pansori but also Korean literature.
The stars of the show will be pansori singers Lee Seung-hee, who is featured in the story “Murder” and Kim So-jin, who will appear in "Ugly Woman."
Lee said she picked short stories of Chu (1902-1972) among hundreds of modern Korean novels she went through. Ugly Woman is about an extremely bad-looking woman who pursues a new life and Murder revolves around a prostitute who falls in love with a dashing man.
"Many asked me why I don't tell Korean stories, so I decided to dig into Korean literature. Chu's stories were the most entertaining for me. At first, I thought of adapting Chu's major work 'The Houseguest and My Mother' but found fiercer ones," she said.
At a recent rehearsal, Kim was practicing a scene in which the husband of the ugly Un-nyeon is surprised by her appearance and flees away. In pansori, a singer plays multiple roles, from the main character to villain to minor roles. It requires extraordinary acting skill and quick wit. Kim was quickly switching from the shocked husband to the wounded Un-nyeon to her talkative friend.
The show is more elaborate than traditional pansori performances, which feature only a singer and drummer. Lee’s rendition will feature a three-member band playing 18 instruments ranging from traditional Korean drums to the exotic “vibra-slap” and accordion.
Lee's Brecht-inspired works, "Sacheon-ga" (based on "The Good Person of Szechwan") and "Ukchuk-ga" (based on "Mother Courage and Her Children") were acclaimed not only in Korea but overseas, traveling to the United States, France, Poland and Japan.
This time, Lee is collaborating with Park Ji-hye, director of theater troupe Yangson Project. It’s Park’s first time working with pansori, and the two are open to experimentation.
“’Ugly Woman’ has a typical narrative structure and was relatively easy to adapt to pansori. However, ‘Murder’ has dramatic tension inside a woman’s mind, so it was difficult to stage, even before turning it into pansori. I wrote 10 drafts for that script,” Lee said.
Though many expected to see Lee performing, she decided to stay behind the scenes in order showcase young pansori performers.
“I think it is important for each pansori singer to have their own repertoire. I hope my contemporary pansori creations will serve as a gift to my colleagues.”
Lee's new pansori pieces "Chu Yo-sup's Ugly Woman/Murder" will be presented on Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. Tickets are free but currently, all performances have been sold out. A number of cancelled tickets will be available on a first-come first-serve basis. For more information, visit www.doosanartcenter.com or call (02) 708-5001.