Her body is light just as Ehuang and Nuying walking on water and

She pushes with both her feet just as Goddess Chang’e rides on a cloud.

She pushes once and twice with all her might

And the leaves above her head sways back and forth along with her. 

This is a part of “Chunhyangg춘향가” introduced in a book called Manhwajip만화집 written in the 1700s. It describes the titular character riding a swing. Ehuang and Nuying were the wives of Chinese Emperor Shun. They represent marital devotion as they killed themselves by jumping into the river upon hearing that Emperor Shun had died while touring the country. Also, Goddess Chang’e is the goddess of the moon, synonymous with a great beauty. Comparing Chunhyang to these renowned figures implies that she was very beautiful and faced bitter hardship. 

“Manhwajip,” the oldest surviving record of pansori, was a collection of pansori pieces from the Honam region written in the form of poems by Confucian scholar Yu Jin-han유진한. Various versions of “Chunhyangga” have been performed over the years. Today, we’re going to hear the gayageum byeongchang가야금 병창 rendition of “Chunhyangga” performed by Ji Seong-ja. The upcoming passage is about how the restlessness Lee Mong-ryong이몽룡 feels while getting ready to meet Chunhyang for the first time. 

Music 1: Chunhyangg / Sung by Ji Seong-ja

That was Ji Seong-ja playing the gayageum to accompany this passage from “Chunhyangga.” 

The term “byeongchang” refers to a Korean traditional musical genre in which a musician sings and plays an instrument at the same time. It is usually done for a passage from a folk song or a pansori. Byeongchang creates richer sound than the original version of pansori, which is accompanied only by a drum. 

“Gyeonggi japga경기잡가” refers to songs sung by professional singers in the Seoul and Gyeonggi-do areas. There are two types of Gyeonggi japga – seongsori선소리 and jwachang좌창. Seonsori is a song performed by several singers, who stand side by side while playing small drums. Meanwhile, jwachang is performed solo whilst seated quietly. It is also called a long japga, since it is typically longer and slower than seonsori. 

Twelve long japga pieces have survived to this day. Among them are several pieces that based on the pansori “Chunhyangga.” The love story between Chunhyang and Lee Mong-ryong has long been a favorite of the Korean people, but there are more jwachang pieces about Chunhyang’s imprisonment and torture than about love. That’s because people of generations past probably related better to Chunhyang’s plight of being abused by the powerful town magistrate. 

Gyeonggi japga pieces are generally sung in a simpler way than pansori, but are considered by many to be more elegant. The second music piece for today is a Gyeonggi japga titled “Chulinga” sung by Lee Geum-mi. 

Music 2: Chulinga/ Sung by Lee Geum-mi

During the Joseon Dynasty, gisaeng or female entertainers, were considered the lowest of the low in social standings. So, when Chunhyang, the daughter of a gisaeng, insisted that she was not a gisaeng herself, the higher classes looked down their noses at her. Although she was from the lowest social class, her dignity and self-esteem were those of the noble-born. Perhaps that was what kept her from succumbing to the town magistrate’s threat and temptation, and what helped her finally unite with Mong-ryong, who came back to her as the king’s secret inspector. 

The people of Joseon must have been fascinated by this dramatic love story, applauding Chunhyang for her steadfast love and devotion. 

But times have changed, and modern society may not interpret the story the same way. It’s possible to think of Chunhyang as nothing but a gold digger looking to climb up the social ladder. It would be fun to imagine what Chunhyang would be like if she were born in the 21^st century, while listening to the music of the modern gugak band Project Rock, who sang about Chunhyang’s disappointment at seeing the dirty and disheveled Mong-ryong before his transformation into a royal inspector. 

Music 3:  Hey, Mong-ryong/ Sung by Project Rock