Pansori Epic Chant

Pansori is one voice and one drum. The singer stands with a folding fan, the drummer sits with a barrel drum, and between them they carry a story that runs for hours in its full form. Five of the old repertoire survive, among them the tale of the faithful Chunhyang and the blind man's daughter Sim Cheong, delivered in a hoarse, deliberately roughened voice that singers spend years damaging and rebuilding. The drummer answers with short shouts of encouragement, and the audience is expected to add the same calls rather than sit quietly. The form came out of the southwestern provinces and is listed by UNESCO as intangible heritage.

Highlights

• The singer and fan - one performer standing, the fan snapped open to mark a scene.
• The gosu - the seated drummer, driving the rhythm and calling encouragement.
• Chuimsae - the shouts the audience is meant to throw in, not applause at the end.
• The five stories - Chunhyang, Sim Cheong, Heungbu and the rest, still the whole repertoire.

When to go

Year round. The national gugak centre in Seoul runs regular weekend programmes with English surtitles, which is the easiest way in. Namwon and Jeongeup in the Jeolla provinces hold pansori events and competitions through the year. Full-length performances are rare and announced well ahead. Book, because the halls used for this are small.

Good to know

The voice is an acquired taste and the first ten minutes sound to newcomers like shouting. Without surtitles the humour and wordplay, which is most of the point, is lost completely. Full performances demand stamina from the audience as well as the singer. Tourist-facing excerpts run so short they amount to a sample.

Nearby

In Seoul the gugak centre sits beside the arts complex in the south; in Jeolla, Namwon and Jeongeup keep the tradition.