Korean Pansori as Voice Theatre

This book introduces readers to the historical, performative, and cultural context of pansori, a traditional Korean oral story-singing art.

Written by a scholar-practitioner of the form, this study is structured in three parts and begins by introducing readers to the technical, aesthetic, and theoretical components of pansori as well as the synthesis of vocal and percussive elements that stage the narrative. It also reflects on the historical contexts of pansori alongside Korea's transformation from Joseon monarchy to modern statehood. It argues that with colonial annexation came modernist influences that Korean dramatists and audiences used to create distinct new genres of Korean performance, using the common thread of pansori.

It further explores the dynamic interplay of preservation and innovation, beginning in the post-war designation of national performance art and continuing with developments that coincide with Korea's imprint on cultural globalization. Along with Korea's growth as a world economic center, a growing enthusiasm for Korean culture around the world has increased the transmission and visibility of pansori. Chan E. Park argues that tradition and innovation are not as divergent as they are sometimes imagined to be and that tradition is the force that enables innovation.

Unique among treatments of this subject, this book is written from combined researcher and practitioner perspectives. Drawing on her ethnographic work and performance practice, Chan E. Park interweaves expert knowledge of both the textual and performative aspects of the form, rendering legible this dramatic tradition.