Korean-Japanese Ahn to perform pansori

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Ahn Sung-min, a third-generation Korean-Japanese pansori performer, will sing the full-length "Sugung-ga" at the Korea Cultural House in southern Seoul, Wednesday.

Ahn, 50, has been learning pansori, a traditional Korean narrative musical genre, for 18 years, splitting her time between Korea and Japan and becoming the first Korean-Japanese to master the Intangible Cultural Property No. 5 pansori earlier this year.

Full-length pansori performances take hours and it is more common these days to perform only highlights instead of the full version. Only those very skilled and masterful can perform full-feature pansori and this is Ahn's first time doing it. "Sugung-ga" is one of the five surviving pansori plays, revolving around the tale of a cunning rabbit's visit to the Dragon King of the Sea.

"I was overwhelmed by the sound of pansori at first, but as I learned the craft, I became fascinated by the life story embodied in the lyrics," Ahn said.

Though she holds Korean citizenship, Ahn did not speak Korean at all until she entered university. She entered a club of Korean-Japanese students and learned Korean language and culture, exploring her family roots.

"Another student handed me a pansori cassette and I was captivated by the music," Ahn said.

She came to Korea in 1998 to explore the musical genre further and studied under master pansori singer Yun Jin-chul for about a year and a half before entering graduate school at Hanyang University’s Department of Korean Traditional Music.

Ahn has been visiting Korea every year since 2001 to take part in master singer Nam Hae-sung's annual summer pansori camp.

She also holds the "Ahn Sung-min Pansori Live" performance every three months in Osaka, where she lives.

Following her full-length pansori performance, Ahn ultimately wants to create a pansori of her own.

"I asked to be excused because I am Korean-Japanese, but being a finisher of the Intangible Cultural Property changed my attitude. I will stand on my own feet as a pansori singer," she said. "I want to make a pansori portraying life and sentiments of Korean-Japanese like me. Pansori is a form of art that expresses joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure in life solely though voice."

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