Pansori “Sugungga” is based on a story of a sea turtle that deceived a rabbit to obtain its liver to heal the sea king’s illness. The rabbit was quite clever, finding a way to escape from certain death by using his wits to fool the turtle. It all started when the sea king heard that rabbit livers were good for his illness. However, the sea king had no means to find a rabbit’s liver since he lived underwater while rabbits lived on land. So he convened a meeting of his officials to find a way for a sea animal to go above water and bring back a rabbit. The sea king’s officials included a long-living turtle in the highest post of prime minister, a carp serving as the chief of staff, a croaker as a minister, and a squid with black ink as a secretary. Other sea creatures, such as a shark, a skate, an anchovy and even a frog, made up the rest of the sea king’s cabinet. You might wonder why a frog was invited to the court of sea creatures, but since the frog can also live in water, it was considered a part of the marine family. The ailing sea king was amazed to see a wide variety of sea animals gathered in his court, so much so that he joked that he looked more like a fishmonger than a king. Today’s first song describes this scene. Here’s Leenalchi singing “The Illustrated Book of Fish.”  

The Illustrated Book of Fish/ Sung by Leenalchi

The animal chosen at this cabinet meeting to go up to land and bring back a rabbit was the turtle. Carrying a portrait of a rabbit, the turtle swam up to the shore and found a rabbit at last. But there was no way he could bring him back to the underwater palace if he had told the rabbit the truth. So he lied to the rabbit, saying that he had a high government post waiting for it. Being a creature of vanity, the rabbit willingly followed the turtle to the sea king’s palace. This scene was turned into a modernized adaptation titled “Let’s Go Down.” This song was created as a pansori publicity piece by the Namwon National Gugak Center. It may not sound like a traditional pansori song, but it sure boosts people’s interest in pansori. Today’s rendition is sung by singer Bada.

Let’s Go Down/ Sung by Bada

Once the two animals reached the sea palace, the turtle told the rabbit to wait outside while he goes inside to announce its arrival. Excited at a new future, the rabbit started looking around the palace when the guards appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his long ears. Realizing that something was dreadfully wrong, the rabbit lied that he was some other animal. The guards weren’t fooled, however, and they tied the rabbit to a pole and carried him inside. Even as he was carried to his doom, the rabbit asked the guards what he was riding on. You can probably tell from this question that the rabbit was rather narcissistic, referring to his situation as riding something rather than being transported like a bundle. The turtle tells him that it was a sedan chair used in the sea palace. The turtle’s obvious lie must have fueled the rabbit’s anger and motivated him to take his revenge on the cheeky turtle. The rabbit finally succeeds at deceiving the sea king with a lie of his own, that he had left his liver in the mountain. He rides on the turtle’s back and returns to land once again. Once they arrive safely on land, the rabbit curses at the turtle who pleads for a piece of his liver, before running away into the mountain. The last “Sugungga” song we will hear today is based on the arrest of the rabbit in the sea palace.  Here's pansori diva Ahn Sook-sun singing that song from “Sugungga.”

Passage from Sugungga/ Sung by Ahn Sook-sun