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Casa Amigo to host 2nd foreign pansori showcase
Foreign pansori singers perform at Casa Amigo in central Seoul's Gyeongnidan neighborhood, June 21. On the right is Cameroonian French singer Laure Mafo, and next to her is British singer Erin Hughes. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
By Jon Dunbar
A diverse group of foreign pansori singers will perform their second showcase of Korea's traditional narrative music genre at Casa Amigo in central Seoul's Gyeongnidan neighborhood on Saturday.
Last time these international practitioners of traditional Korean music gathered there, the room filled with both Koreans and other foreign residents curious to see them perform and learn more about pansori.
"The reaction from people who came to the last event was very positive, with many asking us to organize another one," Erin Hughes, the main event organizer, told The Korea Times. "That's why we decided to do a second show."
Due to the explosive interest in their free concert, the organizers decided this time to charge 15,000 won for entry, which also comes with one free drink.
Registered on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, pansori is a genre of musical storytelling tracing its history back centuries. Generally performed by solo singers, called sorikkun, who perform all the roles in a set repertoire of orally transmitted plays, known as madang. Only five of the original 12 madang are still preserved today.
As a full madang can often take up to 10 hours to perform, contemporary performances usually feature only short excerpts. The sorikkun is accompanied by a drummer, called a gosu, who provides percussion and vocal interjections to emphasize and encourage the performer. Pansori is a lively, engaging musical genre, with spectators adding their own exclamations, a practice called chuimsae.
"The singing style is loud and powerful, which is really striking when you hear it for the first time," Hughes said. "I think folk music is also attractive to people who want to find a deeper connection to Korean culture, whether they are Koreans connecting with their own cultural roots, immigrants trying to assimilate or foreign visitors who simply want to experience Korea's 'authentic' traditions."
Hughes is one of five singers to perform this Saturday, with the guest of honor being Cameroonian French sorikkun Laure Mafo. The other three are Tian Siyu of China, Tham Shungmin of Malaysia and Gaia Brusasco from the U.S.
All are students of pansori teacher Min Hye-sung at Soeul Soripan. They will be accompanied by Lee Beomhui as gosu, who also supported them last time.
Hughes and the other three organizers came up with the name Bikabi for their team, based on a word used long ago to describe amateur pansori performers.
"We are not professional musicians, but just enjoy learning pansori in our free time," Hughes said.
Mafo, on the other hand, has been studying pansori for many years and earned her degree in pansori. She is preparing for her first full-length pansori performance next year, which may be the first-ever case of a foreign sorikkun completing a full pansori in concert. She is also entering a master's program for pansori at Korean National University of the Arts next year.
"I'm very happy she agreed to join us, as she is a fantastic performer and we all have a lot of respect for her," Hughes said. "Laure is also a student of Ms. Min, as are three or four other foreign women who have studied or are studying pansori as their subject of expertise."
A poster for the Pansori Night concert Saturday at Casa Amigo / Courtesy of Bikabi
Hughes said that the majority of Min's students are Korean, but added that "those of us who are foreign often perform together."
"I think there is a certain interest and curiosity from Korean audiences in seeing foreign gugak performers on stage, so we fill a specific niche," she said. Gugak is a general term for Korean traditional music.
"We have previously been invited to perform at large cultural festivals and events, but the event at Taco Amigo in June was the first time we had ever organized our own show by ourselves. To perform in the casual and cozy setting of a bar and restaurant was a completely different experience compared to the more formal stages we had previously performed on."
During that earlier performance, Hughes said she heard from several other foreigners curious about learning how to sing pansori, but their class ultimately did not receive any new students.
"If there is anyone out there who is still wondering how to learn pansori as a foreigner, a good way to start would be to wait for the next Ojakgyo Project class in summer 2026. It's a beginner class run by the World Pansori Association," she said.
"The wonderful thing is that — in my experience, at least — there is a warm welcome for everyone in the gugak community."
The show starts Saturday at 8 p.m. Visit @amigo_talent on Instagram for more information.