The 30th Anniversary of the Society Of Korean Oral Literature and the Achievements, Limitations, and the Path Forward in Pansori Research
Authors:   The Society Of Korean Oral Literature, Seo You Seok 
Published: February 2024

This paper aims to reflect upon the achievements and limitations of Pansori (a Korean genre of musical storytelling performance) research, considering the 30th anniversary of the Society of Korean Oral Literature, and cautiously suggests the future direction for Pansori research. Pansori research has been conducted primarily from the perspectives of literature, music, and performance. From a literary perspective, Pansori research has been at the core of Korean classical narrative literature. The inception of a comprehensive genre theory in Korean classical literature began with the genre regulations of Pansori, and the structural analysis of Pansori Epic Chant revealed concepts that explain Pansori's distinct literary characteristics, such as fixed and non-fixed systems, surface and underlying themes, and the autonomy of its parts. Subsequently, the application of the Oral Formula Theory to Pansori shed new light on the performativity of Pansori Epic Chant, and introduced unique concepts regarding Pansori's portrayal and style, such as principles of scene intensification. However, the literary study of Pansori has its own limitations as it has often treated Pansori merely as a literary work. Pansori's musical research saw a new era following the reproduction of recordings from the late 20th century. The reproduction of these recordings provided a direct research focus on the sounds and melodies of the so-called 'modern 5 gifted singers.' This enabled a revival of ethnic musicological research into the origins of Pansori music, facilitating in-depth historical studies of Pansori music. Nevertheless, this too has clear limitations as it tends to narrowly focus on the musical aspect of Pansori without offering a comprehensive understanding. Research on Pansori performance is, in fact, the essence of all Pansori research. Studies conducted on the performance aspect of Pansori up to now have primarily focused on its external aspects. These include research on the performers—singers and drummers—studies on the audience, and research on the culture of enjoying Pansori. However, the future direction of Pansori research should indeed delve into its internal performance aspects. Research that examines how Pansori Epic Chant is intertwined with Pansori music, how this combined Epic Chant and musical melody resonate with the audience, is in fact the core area of Pansori performance research. Yet, the number of studies exploring this crucial aspect of Pansori performance is relatively limited. ｢Looking back at the past 30 years of 'Oral Literature Research“, out of a total of 549 published papers, Pansori-related papers account for 73, making up 13% of the total. The Pansori studies published in 'Oral Literature Research' have mainly focused on the 'orality' of Pansori. In other words, the research outcomes largely emphasize viewing Pansori within the broader framework of 'oral literature'. Future Pansori research should exhibit a deeper interest in the internal aspects of Pansori performance. Pansori is fundamentally a performance art, and as such, it cannot be solely approached through its individual components of literature, music, and performance. Pansori is an art of performance composed of 'Epic Chant + music + gestures + audience participation'. It is important to examine the interrelationships between these elements and focus on the inherent significance that Pansori performance itself reveals. It is believed that the future direction of Pansori research should concentrate on understanding these dynamics and the meanings they convey.