Shin Jae-hyo was a local government official at Gochang, Jeollabuk-do province in the western part of Korea. He worked as a low-level official under a town magistrate. His father ran a pharmacy, which enabled his family to live comfortably. As a result, Shin had the opportunity to study under several Confucian scholars. His family gave people food during famine and donated significant funds for the reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace, for which his father received a commendation from the government. 

However, Shin was not from the noble yangban양반 class, and was thus subject to various social restrictions. This drove him to find solace in pansori. But Shin was not a singer. Instead, he was a pansori theoretician who documented the history of the music form and sponsored pansori education programs. He also wrote lyrics to pansori pieces, one of which is called “Gwangdaega광대가” or “Clown Song.” The lyrics were about the history of pansori and the proper inclination for pansori singers. The melody was lost long ago, but the lyrics have survived to this day, allowing different singers to create their own unique versions of the song. Let’s listen to “Clown Song” performed by the acoustic ensemble Jaebi. 

Music 1: Clown Song/ By acoustic ensemble Jaebi

Shin Jae-hyo presented four conditions for a great clown – good looks, an ability to recite pansori narratives, a powerful voice, and skill with an instrument. 

It is rather odd that he cited not singing skills but looks as the first requirement. A pleasant appearance would have come in handy, because a handsome clown would appeal more favorably to spectators than an ugly one and be inclined to extract more money from them. However, Shin Jae-hyo didn’t necessarily mean that clowns should be good-looking. Rather, he wanted them to have the right attitude as pansori singers.

A few years back, a Korean movie titled “The Sound of a Flower” was released, which was about the relationship between Shin Jae-hyo and the country’s first female pansori singer Jin Chae-seon진채선. Back in the Joseon Dynasty, pansori was a male-dominated space. Nonetheless, Shin Jae-hyo encouraged Chae-seon to study pansori and become a professional pansori singer. He even told her to sing at a party celebrating the completion of Gyeongbokgung Palace dressed as a man. 

Chae-seon soon became so popular in Hanyang한양, the Joseon-era name of Seoul, that she couldn’t return to Gochang. Her rise to fame inspired Shin Jae-hyo to write a song about her, which later led many to believe the two were more than just a teacher and a student. But more important than the nature of their relationship was Shin Jae-hyo’s disregard for convention and Jin Chae-seon’s talented singing led to many more female pansori singers down the road. 

Now, let’s listen to a passage from pansori “Simcheongga심청가” sung by the pansori artist Kim So-hee, who came from the same hometown as Shin Jae-hyo.  

Music 2: Passage from “Simcheongga”/ Sori by Kim So-hee, drum by Kim Myung-hwan

Five traditional pansori works are practiced today – “Chunhyangga춘향가,” “Simcheongga심청가,” “Jeokbyeokga적벽가,” “Sugungga 수궁가,” and “Heungboga 흥부가.” At the time of Shin Jae-hyo, there were reportedly 12 pansori pieces, of which and he adapted six pieces – the five surviving pansori works and another, “Byeon Gang-soi변강쇠 Taryeong.” 

Pansori was originally commoners’ art. Pansori songs were sung and passed down through generations of mostly illiterate people. This likely meant the pieces were musically unorganized and coarse. What Shin Jae-hyo did was rearrange them so they would sound better. 

Also, he infused different perspectives into the lyrics. For instance, in a passage from “Sugungga” where marine animals hold a meeting with the sea king, Shin described a power struggle among the sea creatures from the perspective of a lowly official. In “Jeokbyeokga” he added a passage about the helplessness of ordinary people and their troubles and sacrifices during wartime. 

We can thank Shin Jae-hyo for developing pansori into the most iconic genre of Korean traditional music. It was he who cultivated the tradition of pansori and transcribed the social landscape of the time into pansori lyrics. 

Let’s wrap up today’s “Sounds of Korea” with pansori singer Yun Jin-chul singing a passage from “Jeokbyeokga” where soldiers longing for their families back home are sent out to fight amidst dread and a sense of foreboding doom. 

Music 3: Passage from “Jeokbyeokga”/ Sori by Yun Jin-chul, drum by Cho Yong-su