Professor Park shared her extensive knowledge as a researcher and performer of Korean Pansori with an audience of staff, students and members of the public.
Her compelling lecture explained the origins of the unique art form often used for storytelling, revealing that 'pan' refers to ‘performance’ and 'sori' to singing. She went on to detail how Pansori is constructed through cycles of different rhythms known in Korean as jinyang, jungmori, jungjungmori, jajinmori, eonmori, hwimori, and danmori.
We learnt that ‘jinyang’ is the slowest rhythmic cycle in Pansori, creating a feeling of sadness, or lingering emotion. In contrast ‘danmori’, meaning "short beat," is a very fast and often abrupt rhythmic pattern typically used for short, exclamatory phrases or to punctuate a dramatic moment. Professor Park demonstrated these rhythms for the audience on a traditional Korean drum - known as a ‘buk’.
After the lecture and demonstration, Professor Park treated an eager audience to a mesmerising performance, an adaptation of the Korean folktale "The Dragon King, the Hare, and the Turtle." This humorous story, with its valuable lesson about cleverness in overcoming adversity, came to life through six enchanting songs, complemented by rhythmic drumming and interludes of spoken word.
Thanks to her thoughtful inclusion of English subtitles on screen, the audience could easily follow and enjoy Professor Park’s performance.
It was an honour to host Professor Chan Park for an insightful lecture and captivating Pansori performance. Her visit provided a wonderful opportunity to experience a unique aspect of Korean culture, and we thank her for sharing her expertise and art form with us.