Pansori is a term coined by combining ¡®pan¡¯ and ¡®sori.¡¯ ¡®Pan¡¯ refers to a place where an action or an event takes place as seen in words such as ¡®gutpan¡¯ (a place for exercising), ¡®ssireumpan¡¯ (a place for Korean traditional wrestling), and ¡®noreumpan¡¯ (a place for gambling). It also refers to the combined actions of many people as seen from usages such as ¡®pani kkaejida¡¯ (pan breaks up and people dissipate) and ¡®hanpan bulida¡¯ (to hold a pan). The examples above suggest ¡®pan¡¯ represents a large number of people participating in or carrying out an event for the same purpose.
¡®Pan¡¯ doesn¡¯t refer to any specific area or location. Like the theater in the Western world, it can refer to any place in our daily lives. ¡®Pan¡¯ takes place anywhere amid the lifecycles of work and leisure. ¡®Pan¡¯ is formed in the context of our lives. In ¡®pan,¡¯ there are main players and a large audience, and through their interactions, performances are carried out.
¡®Sori¡¯ in ¡®pansori¡¯ basically refers to the singing voice of people and extends to all the sounds of nature. Pansori uses the drum as a minimal instrument to generate rhythm and voice along with very concise and symbolic gestures to express our lives like panorama. In sum, Pansori is not visually-oriented, or landscape-centered art, but audio-oriented, or soundscape-centered art.
Pansori is defined as a performance where a singer with a folding fan in hand recites a story using techniques such as Chang, Aniri (recitation), and Balim (body expressions) to the sounds of a drummer (¡®gosu¡¯). The drummer joins the performance with Chuimsae or calls of encouragement to urge on the singer as well as to excite the audience. A good drummer is crucial not only to the singer but also to the overall performance of Pansori.
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>Information on Pansori 
