This year can be said as the year of Arirang, the nation’s symbolic folk song. Last year, China designated the tune Arirang, loved by ethnic Koreans living in China, as its national cultural heritage. In some way, preserving the cultural assets of ethnic minorities in China could have a positive aspect. But Koreans who have witnessed China’s Northeast Project felt the urgency to protect the traditional tune which could be lost to its neighboring country.

So, this year, Korea is making concerted efforts to promote Arirang to the world to designate the folk song as UNESCO’s Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Although the tune of Arirang slightly varies and has thousands of different lyrics according to different regions, familiar versions to the public are restricted to a few such as Arirang of Gyeonggi Province, Jeongseon Arirang, Gangwondo Arirang, Jindo Arirang, and Miryang Arirang.

As such, only a few variations of the song are well known to locals. In North Korea, there is a song titled “Ginari, Jajinari.” Even though it doesn’t have the original refrain of Arirang, the title “Ari” and the lyrics that describe one’s longing for love show that there are relations between the northern tune and the Arirang enjoyed in the South. For the first piece of music on the show, let’s listen to “Ginari, Jajinari” by Kim Gwang-suk.

Ginari, Jajinari / Sori Kim Gwang-suk

We just listened to “Ginari, Jajinari,” the folk song of Pyeongan Province in North Korea. The songs of Pyeongan and Hwanghae Provinces are referred to as seodo minyo. The prominent feature of the northern folk song is the resentful tone with a slightly nasal voice that seems to shake off the sound. As different regions have their own unique dialect, the same goes with native tunes.

It is said that only those who have drunk the water of Daedong River can properly sing the songs of seodo region. In other words, one has to be born and raised in the same region in order to properly capture the indigenous sentiment of the area. But it seems like North Korea is sitting on its hand that even seodo sori is being lost. These days, it’s rare to find seodo sori singers in the North.

Only the melodies passed down by virtuosos Oh Bok-nyeo and Kim Jeong-yeon, who had learned sori in the region where the Daedong River flows but have settled down in South Korea, are handed down to future generations. That’s why master singer Kim Gwang-suk who is the disciple of Oh Bok-nyeo is designated as Important Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 29 and the holder of seodo sori.

Although she was born in Seoul in 1952 and raised there, not in the area around Daedong River in the North, she was familiar with the sentiment of the North Korean region from an early age thanks to her parents who were from Hwanghae Province.

In her first year at the National High School of Traditional Arts, she became an apprentice of seodo sori and received a scholarship. When she became a member of National Gugak Center, she had to hold many Gyeonggi minyo performances. So, she also learned sori from master singer Kim Ok-sim and also studied gasa, which was enjoyed by literati-scholars in the past.

But that didn’t seem to satisfy her ambition. After quitting her job, she entered university and earned a masters degree as well as a doctoral degree. Her passion to pursue higher education and ceaseless study must have become the foundation of her excellent sori. This time, let’s take a listen to Gaeseong Nanbongga by Kim Gwang-suk.

Gaeseong Nanbongga / Sori Kim Gwang-suk

That was seodo minyo “Gaeseong Nanbongga” by Kim Gwang-suk. Although Kim was born and raised in Seoul, she had a chance to perform with her master Oh Bok-nyeo at the Pyongyang Pan-National Unification Concert held in North Korea’s capital in 1990. Various genres such as pansori, samulnori, sanjo were presented, but the most popular repertoire was master Oh and Kim’s seodo sori.

At the time, seodo sori was almost forgotten in the North. So, North Korean audiences were moved as if reuniting with one’s lost family. By virtue of the show, Kim also had an opportunity to meet seodo sori master Kim Jin-myeong in North Korea and received lessons from him.

With innate passion and endless efforts, sori master Kim Gwang-suk has been passing down the sori of her teachers. But these days, she is committed to training her up-and-coming disciples. Let’s hope to see more and more students surpass the excellence of their masters in the future.

We’ll wrap up today’s show with Sichang Gwansanyungma by master Kim Gwang-suk. Joseon era scholar Shin Gwang-su’s poem submitted at the national exam was sung to the tune. It’s a popular rendition of seodo sori singers.

Sichang Gwansanyungma / Sori Kim Gwang-suk