The Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation is offering an intimate pansori concert series for international visitors, featuring unamplified performances in a salon-style setting designed to highlight the genre's natural acoustics.
The foundation, led by its president, Bae Young-ho, is hosting the "Onggi Concert: Pansori Season" every Wednesday and Thursday at 4 p.m. through Aug. 13 at Gwangmudae, a stage inside the Korean Traditional Performing Arts Creation Maru in Seoul.
Limited to 40 audience members, the performances are staged without microphones or amplification, allowing audiences to experience pansori in its original acoustic form. Inspired by the Joseon-era tradition of "1-in 1-sang" (literally one person, one table) — the venue recreates a late Joseon-era "pungryubang," or salon for music lovers, where performers and audiences share the same space. Earthenware jars, or onggi, placed throughout the venue serve as natural acoustic diffusers.
This season centers on "Simcheongga," one of the five surviving pansori epics, telling the story of a devoted daughter who sacrifices herself for her blind father. Inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, pansori is a traditional Korean genre of musical storytelling performed by a singer and drummer. Featured vocalists are Kim Soo-min, recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Lee Seung-hoon, winner of the Presidential Prize at the Onnara Gugak Competition.
The program is designed for non-Korean speakers, with an English-speaking docent introducing the history and key scenes of the performance.
It begins with a welcome drink and orientation before the performance, followed by a Q&A session with the artists. The experience concludes with hands-on activities, including trying traditional instruments such as the gayageum and soribuk and wearing traditional clothes.
The pansori series runs through Aug. 13, with seasons dedicated to traditional dance and yeonhui (traditional performing arts) scheduled from Oct. 7 to Dec. 10. Tickets are priced at 150,000 won for all seats and can be reserved via Seoul Pass.
hwangdh@heraldcorp.com
