>Information on Pansori



The first point of time when we can confirm the existence of Pansori through literatures is the reign of King Youngjo in Joseon Dynasty. In the collection of works of Hwa-Jae Mahn and Jin-Han Yoo who lived during the reign of King Youngjo, there are 200 phrases of Choonhyangga (which is called ¡®Manhwabon Choonhyangga¡¯), which is the oldest records regarding Pansori. The contents of Manhwabon Choonhyangga are almost same as the present Choonhyangga. A long story was translated into a short poem so the details are unknown, but there is no difference between the past and the present in terms of the outline of the story, ¡®forming a relationship ? love ? separation ? difficulties ? reunion¡¯, and the characters. This tells that people started to sing Pansori before the middle part of the 18th century, that is, around the end of the 17th century.
It is thought that the early Pansori was based on the populace. It was sung and listened by the people. However, with the 18th century coming in, Pansori got penetrated into the noble and intelligent, and met recorders. In this process, it went through several changes. [Manhwabon Choonhyangga] is a product of such process. In the Chinese poetry consisting of total 50 phrases, namely, Gwan-woo-hee written by Man-Jae Song around 1810, 12 Batangs of Pansori and the names of singers like Choon-Dae Woo, Sam-Deuk Gwon, Heung-Gab Moh, etc. appear.
The noteworthy thing in relation to the existence format of Pansori in this period is the reason why Man-Jae Song wrote Gwanwoohee. He said, ¡°My country has customs that once a son passes the state examination, his family invites clowns to let them sing and perform skills. Last spring, my son passed it, but I am too poor to hold a banquet so I am composing this poem.¡± It tells that Pansori in the early days existed in the form of being invited for a successful event like passing the state examination. In other words, Pansori existed, together with a feast, to commemorate an important chance in life.
However, it is thought that Pansori in this period was much simpler and poorer than the present in terms of music or story.