Master singer Park Chun-jae박춘재 was a royal court official in charge of palace entertainment in the late Joseon period. His job was to take care of the musicians and entertainers for royal celebrations at the palace and to amuse the royal family members with his many talents. In fact, Prince Yeongchin영친, the seventh son of King Gojong, supposedly brightened only when Park Chun-jae cheered him up. Park was not only talented in singing Gyeonggi folksongs, but also in telling interesting anecdotes. It was more than a joke. Rather, it was much like a standup comedy act performed to make the audience laugh at pansori or mask dance performances. The late Joseon period was when new cultures made into Korea, causing big shifts in the performing arts field as well. At the time, Park created a new genre that combined singing and telling funny episodes. Now we’re going to hear one of those songs. It is titled “A Dog’s Complaint.” During shaman rituals, priestesses sometimes would get possessed by the spirit of a deceased person and speak in the voice of the dead. “A Dog’s Complaint” describes how a dead dog’s spirit takes over a shaman priestess to gripe about all the bad experiences the dog had while alive. The version recorded by Park Chun-jae has deteriorated so much that it is hard to decipher what he says. So today we have a young pansori singer named Jeon Byeong-hun singing “A Dog’s Complaint.”

A Dog’s Complaint/ Sung by Jeon Byeong-hun

These days, pet dogs are sometimes treated better than humans, but it wasn’t necessarily the case back in the old days. Dogs were tied up in the yard and given leftovers to eat. There was also an awful custom of starving the dogs on the first full moon of the year. No wonder the dog had so much to gripe about. The possessed shaman talked about all the abuse the dog had to take during its lifetime in front of the deceased person’s family and friends. This story would have been quite amusing, having been reenacted by the renowned storyteller Park Chun-jae. It is said that a mere glimpse of Park would bring laughter from the audience. Coming up next is “The Dog Song” from the western region. Don’t be fooled by its title. The song may begin with a warning about dog barking, but it is in essence a love song. In the first line of the song, a woman asks the dog not to bark at a nighttime visitor lest the noise should chase away her lover visiting for a late-night tryst. Here are three traditional divas – Oh Bok-nyeo, Shin Jeong-ae, and Yu Ji-sook – singing “The Dog Song.”

The Dog Song/ Sung by Oh Bok-nyeo, Shin Jeong-ae, and Yu Ji-sook

Toward the end of the Japanese colonial period, comic conversations called “mandam만담” or “jaedam재담” were a popular form of entertainment. These jaedam acts usually involved two people telling funny stories, which built the groundwork for comedy shows that came later. The origin of jaedam can be found back in pansori pieces, which usually contained various funny characters and anecdotes. Master pansori singer Park Dong-jin박동진 was especially famous for telling the stories in a more realistic and engaging way. The passages we’re going to hear next are from pansori “Heungboga흥보가.” This is a sequence that begins with Nolbo놀보 taking home a small fancy dresser from the newly prosperous Heungbo and ends with Nolbo trying to find a swallow in the middle of the winter in the hopes of fixing its leg and gaining riches like his younger brother. We will conclude this week’s Sounds of Korea with master singer Park Dong-jin singing these passages from pansori “Heungboga.” 

Passages from Heungboga/ Sung by Park Dong-jin