A single pansori passage usually lasts more than 10 minutes and sometimes as long as 30 minutes. So it is important for pansori singers to relax the vocal cord before singing. They do so by singing short songs called “danga단가” on stage before starting their performances. Danga is like the appetizer before the main course. It should only whet your appetite for the actual performance, not overpower it. So a performer shouldn’t overdo it and make a the performance too rousing or funny. Most danga pieces are mellow and sing about pleasant natural sceneries and famous historical figures. The first danga piece we’re going to hear today is “Baekbalga,” meaning, the song of silver hair. In this song, old people lament their graying hair and the futility of the passage of time. At the end of the song, they agree to travel to Mount Geumgang and see the wonderful sights before they grow older. Here is Han Nong-seon singing danga “Baekbalga.” 

Music 1: Baekbalga/ Sori by Han Nong-seon

Today’s audiences prefer danga pieces that sing of the fleeting nature of life over picturesque sights, but also old Chinese tales. It’s hard for people of today to understand old idioms comprised of Chinese characters featured in such pieces. When a singer sings the futility of life in a simple voice, that poignant emotion seems to be felt even more profoundly. In “Baekbalga,” those who traveled to Mount Geumgang drop by to see a Buddhist ritual at a small temple. Several Buddhist monks were busy playing the drums and recited chants. The travelers then witnessed a performance along with the spectacular Mount Geumgang scenery. Afterwards, they were treated to a delicious and healthy vegetarian meal. This danga thus ends with the line that goes, “Let’s swagger and enjoy.” Most of the scenes depicted in danga pieces are set in China, as it was a favorite travel destination in the past. But in “Baekbalga” their destination of choice was Mount Geumgang. That is somewhat understandable, because even Chinese diplomats reportedly wanted to visit Mount Geumgang whenever they came to Korea. It was one of the must-see tourist spots in the peninsula. However, it wasn’t easy for either noblemen or common folks to travel to Mount Geumgang in the old days because transportation wasn’t convenient and it was expensive to travel at that distance. Those who were fortunate enough visit documented their experiences through writing or art and then shared them with many others. Music was also a medium through which travelers communicated their awe and wonder of the scenic mountain. Here’s master vocalist Lee Chun-hee singing Gyeonggi-do folk song “Geumgangsan Taryeong” which contains various sights and tales of Mount Geumgang.

Music 2: Geumgangsan Taryeong/ Sori by Lee Chun-hee

Another “Geumgangsan Taryeong” from the southern region written in the 1950s is for female singers. During the Japanese colonial period, several pansori-traveling groups performed all over the nation. Those groups were generally comprised of male singers, so female singers had very difficult time finding opportunities to perform. In the late 1940s, talented female singers like Park Rok-joo, Kim So-hee and Park Gui-hee banded together to create a female gugak musicians’ group and perform a new style of traditional musical. In such performances, female singers played male roles, wrote new plays inspired by old folktales or myths and modified instruments to fit tone of the atmosphere. New folk songs like “Camellia Song” and “Geumgangsan Taryeong” were written at this time. Traditional female musical “Gyeonwoo견우 and Jiknyeo직녀” features a scene at Mount Geumgang where a woodcutter steals a heavenly maiden’s dress. Let us listen to Cho Young-sook and Han Hye-sun singing a passage from female musical “Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo.”

Music 3: Passage from “Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo”/ Sori by Cho Young-sook and Han Hye-sun