Tomorrow, May 5^th on the lunar calendar, is Dano단오, one of the four most significant traditional holidays of South Korea along with Seol설, Chuseok추석 and Hansik한식. Unfortunately, Koreans don’t celebrate this day as much as they used to. The Gangneung Danoje단오제 Festival has become the largest celebration of Dano in Korea and this year’s Namwon Chunhyang Festival, another well-known springtime event, has been pushed back to September due to the COVID-19 crisis. The reason that the Namwon Chunhyang Festival is held around Dano is because it is the day that Chunhyang and Lee Mong-ryong이몽룡 first met. He first laid his eyes on her when he was on an outing to Gwanghallu광한루 Pavilion on a spring day and spotted the lovely Chunhyang riding a swing from afar. Poet Seo Jeong-ju wrote a poem about her feelings titled “Chucheonsa추천사.” The poem begins as follows. 

Hyangdan, push the swing.

Push it as if you’re pushing a boat far out to the sea.

The poem sings of Chunhyang’s longing to escape the small town and to travel somewhere far away. Gayageum virtuoso Hwang Byung-ki was inspired by this poem to write a gayageum piece with the same title. Here’s Hwang Byung-ki’s composition “Chucheonsa” sung by Kang Kwon-sun with Lee Ji-young playing the 17-string gayageum. 

Music 1: Chucheonsa/ Written by Hwang Byung-ki, sung by Kang Kwon-sun, gayageum by Lee Ji-young

Pansori “Chunhyangga” was retold in many different stories, and more recently into movies and TV dramas. Several traditional Korean songs were also inspired by Chunhyangga, one of which is the Gyeonggi-do japga경기도 잡가 called “Sochunhyangga소춘향가.” It’s about the first encounter between Chunhyang and Lee Mong-ryong. In the pansori version of “Chunhyangga,” Lee’s servant Bangja방자 tells him where Chunhyang lives, but in “Sochunhyangga,” Chunhyang herself tells him the direction to her home. 

Look at Chunhyang’s behavior. 

She shades herself from the sun with her left hand 

And raises her right hand to point at the bamboo forest just beyond.

The fence is made of bamboo and the gazebo is made of pine wood. 

There is a pavilion with lotus flowers to the east and a well to the west. 

Cucumbers grow on the roadside and the willows sway in front of the gate.

This is how Chunhyang’s home is described in the song. She even makes Lee Mong-ryong promise to visit her at dusk. The song describes how the young man thought her quite bold and flirty. Here’s Choi Eun-ho singing “Sochunhyangga.”

Music 2: Sochunhyangga/ Sung by Choi Eun-ho

A Gyeonggi japga is usually performed by a singer seated on the floor while playing the janggu, the double-sided drum, by himself. A japga is not as dramatic as a pansori piece, so it may be perceived as a bit dull. However, it is a perfect piece to appreciate the singer’s vocal techniques and range of tones. In the latter part of “Chunhyangga,” Lee Mong-ryong returns to Namwon as a secret government inspector and rescues his beloved Chunhyang from the evil town magistrate. When Lee first arrives in town, he is disguised as a beggar, but Chunhyang is nonetheless glad to see him. Unlike her steadfast love depicted in pansori “Chunhyangga,” however, Project Rock’s “Lee Mong-ryong” describes how disappointed Chunhyang is at seeing the disheveled Mong-ryong who had returned home as a failure. This depiction of Chunhyang may disappoint those who believed her to be the icon of chastity and true love, but it may be a more realistic perspective of the young Chunhyang. Here’s Project Rock performing “Lee Mong-ryong,” to conclude this week’s Sounds of Korea.

Music 3: Lee Mong-ryong/ Sung by Project Rock