March, the month when spring officially starts. It is that time of the year when people are usually filled with new expectations. Students start another school year and farmers look forward to planting new crops. Back in the day, Koreans considered odd-numbered days lucky. For instance, January 1st was New Year’s Day, May 5th was Dano단오, July 7^th was Chilseok칠석, the Korean version of Valentine’s Day, and September 9^th Jungyangjeol중양절 was the day of enjoying chrysanthemums or the day the swallows flew south to spend the winter. The day the swallows returned back to Korea in the following spring was March 3^rd, Samjitnal삼짇날. On that day, people would go out to the mountains or the meadows to enjoy the balmy spring weather and pleasant vernal scenery. They would breathe in fresh air and feel energized after being cooped up inside their houses all winter long. The first song for today’s Sounds of Korea is a passage from pansori Heungboga흥보가. It is about a swallow’s return trip from the south performed by Park Gui-hee and accompanied by the gayageum.  

Music 1: Heungbo’s Swallow Flies In/ Sung by Park Gui-hee

This passage was sung by pansori singer Park Gui-hee as she, herself, played the gayageum. In the song the swallow flew all the way from the southern part of China to Heungbo’s house in southern Korea. What’s interesting about the swallow’s flight is that it took the land route which is much longer than the flight path across the Yellow Sea. The bird would have traveled in a circular route, from the southern region to Beijing and down to the northern border of Korea. 

Then it would fly to Hanyang한양, before finally arriving at Heungbo’s house in southern Korea. In the past, the diplomats or merchants would have frequently taken the route from Beijing to Hanyang, now present day Seoul. The road from Hanyang to Heungbo’s house was similar to that traveled by Lee Mong-ryong이몽룡, when he returned to his hometown in Namwon남원, as an undercover government inspector. 

The swallow that arrived at Heungbo’s house left him a gourd seed to thank him for fixing its broken leg the previous spring. The magic seed made the kind-hearted Heungbo rich overnight. Upon hearing the news of Heungbo’s sudden success, his greedy brother, Nolbo놀보, decided to become even more wealthy than Heungbo. So he built a swallow nest under his roof and waited for the bird to show up, but not a single one arrived. He got fed up and went out to catch one himself. Let’s hear the passage in which Nolbo goes out in search of a swallow and at last obtains a magic gourd seed. This passage is sung by world-class vocalist Park Rok-joo.

Music 2: Passages from pansori Heungboga/ Sori by Park Rok-joo

Gyeonggijapga경기잡가 refers to a set of folk songs sung by the singers in the Gyeonggi-do region. It is called jwachang좌창 or sit-down songs considering that the songs are usually performed while seated to the beat of only a double-sided drum, and 12 japga stands for the 12 songs in all. Among the 12 japga are several songs adapted from pansori, indicating that pansori was widely loved in the Seoul and surrounding areas. “Jebiga제비가” or “The Swallow Song” is one of these songs. It borrows one line from pansori Chunhyangga춘향가 and then another from pansori Heungboga흥보가, before singing of the sorrow of the break up with a loved one. Today’s episode of Sounds of Korea will conclude with Kim Young-im singing “The Swallow Song.”

Music 3: The Swallow Song/ Sung by Kim Young-im