In the old days it was difficult for people to travel far. There were no trains or airplanes, so people either had to walk or ride a horse to reach your destination. There were also no tunnels or paved roads, so people had to travel through dangerous, rugged mountains, where they were often attacked by wild animals or bandits. Since Korea is surrounded by water on three sides, the only destination accessible by land routes was China, where only the individuals with official permission are allowed to travel. So ordinary Koreans couldn’t even dream of going to a foreign country. But those who could not get rid of their wanderlust often resorted to a practice called “wayu와유,” which referred to a sort of virtual traveling by reading travelogues or looking at the paintings of famous landmarks in a faraway land from your own home. “Jebinojeonggi제비노정기” from pansori “Heungboga” follows a swallow’s flight from southern China to Heungbo’s house in Korea. In general, swallows fly over the sea when traveling north in spring, but peculiarly, the swallow in “Heungboga” flew over land, across the Chinese continent, and saw at all the famous sites. Let’s listen to Kim Sun-ok singing “Jebinojeonggi.” 

Jebinojeonggi / Sung by Kim Sun-ok

In old folktales, good people were rewarded with good fortune while bad people punished. But in reality, the opposite happens quite often – good people living in poverty while bad people become rich and powerful. In pansori “Heungboga,” the kindhearted Heungbo fixes the swallow’s broken leg one spring day, and he becomes rich with the magical gourd seeds brought by the swallow in the fall of next year. Over the several months in between, Heungbo and his family experienced extreme poverty. Heungbo’s story supposedly implies that it takes time for a good deed to be rewarded just as it took months for the magical seeds to bear fruits of good fortune. And the reward feels more precious and sweeter because they had endured hardship for so long. The aria about how Heungbo and his family saws open the gourds is always enjoyable and cheerful. Two magical chests that fill up with money and rice no matter how much you take out seems to represent Heungbo’s heart that overflows with love and generosity. Here’s an aria about Heungbo’s kind heart sung by Ahn Sook-sun. 

Aria from pansori “Heungboga”/ Sung by Ahn Sook-sun

When you think about it, Heungbo owes Nolbo all his good fortune. Heungbo and his family used to live in Nolbo’s house, but the mean older brother didn’t like they spent his money and ate his food. So Nolbo kicked out his brother’s family in the middle of winter, leaving them to suffer poverty like they had never known. But if Nolbo hadn’t kicked them out, Heungbo and his family would not have lived in a shabby house where a snake threatened a swallow’s nest and Heungbo wouldn’t have ended up treating the baby swallow. Anyway, once Nolbo hears about his younger brother’s new-found wealth, he rushes over to Heungbo’s house to claim his share of the riches, saying that it was all thanks to him that Heungbo got rich. In gratitude, Heungbo gives him a wardrobe with plant decorations called “hwachojang화초장.” He tells Nolbo that the wardrobe is filled with gold coins and all sorts of treasures, and that he will have it delivered to Nolbo’s house. But fearing that the delivery man would steal the gold coins, Nolbo takes the heavy wardrobe home by himself. This week’s episode of Sounds of Korea will conclude with gugak a capella group Torys singing “Hwachojang” from pansori “Heungboga.”

Hwachojang / Sung by Torys