The traditional Korean story that’s most often depicted in film is “Chunhyangjeon춘향전” or “The Story of Chunhyang.” But another narrative that has enjoyed similar popularity on the silver screen is the story of Byeon Gangsoe변강쇠.

Many Koreans are taught that Byeon Gang-soe represents masculinity and a strong reproductive drive, but he was actually the male protagonist of a pansori piece titled “Garujigi Taryeong가루지기타령” or “Byeon Gang-soe Taryeong.” 

When pansori scholar Shin Jae-hyo신재효 pared down twelve pansori works to six near the end of the Joseon Dynasty, “Byeon Gang-soe Taryeong,” in spite of its explicit sexual references, survived the downsizing along with “Chunhyangga,” “Heungboga,” “Jeokbyeokga,” “Sugungga,” and “Simcheongga.” 

We can safely assume the song was popular back then, given that it was one of the favorites of Song Heung-rok송흥록, the hottest singer at the time. Unfortunately, only the lyrics survive to this day. The original melody and beat have been lost to time. 

Master singer Park Dong-jin, who was very into creative pansori, released an album with a new melody put to the lyrics. The first piece we’re going to hear today is the part of “Pansori Byeon Gang-soe” where Byeon meets a girl named Ong-nyeo옹녀 sung by Park Dong-jin.

Music 1: Passage from “Pansori Byeon Gang-soe”/ Sung by Park Dong-jin

In this pansori piece, Byeon Gang-soe is portrayed as the worst kind of insect, who isn’t good at anything except getting into trouble. He is driven away from his hometown and wanders all over the country. That’s when he meets Ong-nyeo, a woman who lost every man she married and suffered great misfortune throughout her life.

She was also chased out from the village she was living in with nowhere else to go. The two went to live high up on Jirisan Mountain, a difficult life for two penniless individuals. Unfortunately for Ong-nyeo, Byeon Gang-soe doesn’t lift a finger to help her or make a living. When she asked him to chop some firewood, he stole a totem pole from a nearby village and chopped it up for the furnace. He was then cursed by the guardian spirit of the village and died. 

That’s the first half of the story, and the rest centers around how the men who courted Ong-nyeo after Byeon Gang-soe’s death all die mysterious and sudden deaths, and how she tries to dispose of the bodies all by herself. The episodes are preposterous, lewd, and jumbled, but the lives of the lower classes people are realistically portrayed in these episodes, giving a good look at how ordinary people lived in those times. Here’s “Byeon Gang-soe Taryeong” sung by Park Sang-ok.

Music 2:  “Byeon Gang-soe Taryeong”/ Sung by Park Sang-ok

Following two devastating wars – the Japanese invasion in 1592 and the Manchurian invasion of Korea in 1636 – people’s lives in Joseon became intolerably difficult. Many people had to abandon their family homes that had stood for generations and lived miserably as vagrants. “Byeon Gang-soe Taryeong” was a satirical song about these people. 

It is the role of pansori to engage an audience with laughter and wit so that they can share in the pain of the less fortunate. The story of Byeon Gang-soe actually starts and ends with Ong-nyeo. She is the one who drives the story forward and takes control of it toward the end. Perhaps the song should have been called “Ong-nyeo Taryeong.” 

There have been efforts in recent years to re-interpret her character as a strong woman, not a helpless one dependent on a good-for-nothing troublemaker like Byeon Gang-soe. 

The National Changgeuk창극 Company of Korea’s creative production based on Ong-nyeo’s story has won positive reviews and young pansori singer Lee Na-rae이나래 released a creative pansori piece that reimagines the Ong-nyeo character. 

The story of how she faced the tough world and overcame difficulties teaches us a lesson in inner strength. Let’s conclude this week’s Sounds of Korea with “Speaking of Ong-nyeo” sung by Lee Na-rae with Kim In-soo at the percussion.

Music 3: Speaking of Ong-nyeo/ Sung by Lee Na-rae, percussion by Kim In-soo