"'Heungbuga' Singing About Money... Pansori, Not Just the Past but the Present"

Master Singer Kim Jeong-min's 23rd Complete Performance of 'Heungbuga' Stage
"A Quite Challenging Work for Female Masters
But a Story Essential in Today's World Forgetting Justice"

"Even the clever person has foolish money, and even the foolish person has clever money. Money that is round and smooth like the wheels of Mengsanggun's (Mengchangjun's) cart, the power of life and death held by money. Money attached to wealth and fame. Oh, this money, where have you gone and when will you come back! Oh dear money, look here, my dear child, go across the village and bring your uncle."

The section of Pansori called 'Heungboga' where the gourd is struck, commonly referred to as the 'money chant,' is always exhilarating to hear. Life is hard for both me and Heungbu, it feels the same, but while the odds of winning the lottery I play are 1 in 8.14 million, the chance of Heungbu winning by striking the gourd is 1 in 2, isn't it? Money pours out from the gourd, yet Heungbu is still thinking about his tormenting brother Nolbu, so rather than empathizing, a suffocating frustration like having eaten 100 sweet potatoes overwhelms me. Among existing Pansori, 'Heungboga' is notable for its folk characteristics with many parts combining humor, dance, and singing, but it has been a work that female master singers rarely perform.

Master Kim Jung-min. [Photo by Delicious Gugak]

Kim Jeong-min (55), a master singer and holder of the national intangible cultural asset for Pansori 'Heungboga,' who has performed the complete Pansori stage 22 times from 2013 to 2022, will perform 'Heungboga' for the 23rd time on the 20th at Donhwamun Gugakdang in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

At a press conference held on the 15th in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, Master Kim said, "Actually, 'Heungboga' is a difficult work. From the perspective of a female master singer, the main characters are male, and there is a lot of humor and witty dialogue, so even if performed well, it is hard to show a natural style. However, the message of rewarding good and punishing evil?that if you live kindly, the outcome is good, and conversely, if you do evil and greedily covet others' things, you will be punished?is a story that we desperately need today when morality is forgotten. That is why I chose this work," explaining the background of her choice.

Kim Jeong-min was a devoted disciple of the late master singer Park Song-hee, from whom she learned 'Heungboga' and 'Jeokbyeokga.' Even for masters, performing a complete Pansori stage 10 times is difficult, but she has performed it 22 times until last year, maintaining one to two full performances annually, demonstrating her iron stamina. Previously, last year, she performed a complete 'Jeokbyeokga' at Teatro dal Verme (1,436 seats), one of Italy's three major theaters in Milan, receiving a standing ovation. In May last year, she sold out tickets within 30 minutes for the 'Pansori 4 Batsang 4 Daemok' performance in Paris, France, showcasing the power of K-Pansori.

Master Kim Jeong-min's performance in Milan, Italy.
[Photo by Delicious Gugak]

Master Kim said, "When an Italian audience who saw my complete Pansori performance told me that Pansori is truly a 'solo opera' and that they thought opera originated from them but now realize Korea is the origin, I felt deeply moved," adding, "In Korea, tickets for complete Pansori performances cost 20,000 won, and even then, seats are often filled with complimentary tickets, but abroad, performances sell out in less than half a day, and receiving standing ovations brings mixed emotions."

Perhaps because of such regrets, she has set aside the life of a Pansori singer who insists on a single path and has been challenging various fields and trying new things. Influenced by her grandfather, who was a Pansori singer, Kim chose Pansori herself after majoring in Gayageum. She stood out by winning the grand prize at the Namwon Master and Master Singer Competition in her teens. After graduating from Chung-Ang University’s Korean Music Department and passing the National Changgeuk Company audition, she felt that a life limited to predetermined works would be like a frog in a well, so she wrote a resignation letter immediately upon acceptance and devoted herself to nurturing juniors at her alma mater, the National Traditional Arts High School. At that time, a student she taught applied for the movie 'Hwimori' audition with a hopeful heart, beating a competition ratio of 2800 to 1, was cast as the lead, and won the Grand Bell Award for Best New Actress.

Her wish, "I wanted to show many audiences that Pansori, our traditional sound, is not an old sound but a living sound today, and that juniors can succeed just by doing Pansori," has led to continuous challenges. She has led the popularization of Gugak (traditional Korean music) through lectures titled 'Don't Underestimate Our Sound' on domestic broadcasts such as MBC, KBS, and EBS, and through the popularity of these public lectures, she has promoted the excellence of Pansori on various stages including large corporations, public institutions, and the National Assembly.

Master Kim Jeong-min performing the four pansori madangs at the Korean Cultural Center in Paris, France, 2023.
[Photo by Delicious Gugak]

New attempts are also noticeable in this 'Heungboga' complete performance. Master Kim explained, "In this performance, the many verses of 'Heungboga' will be composed into animation videos, and the videos will flip like pages of a book in sync with the corresponding parts." Instead of mats and folding screens, animations will take their place on her stage. She said, "The reason Pansori has become distant from the public is the perception that it is old-fashioned, but I want to show on stage that it is not outdated. When times change, Pansori must also change. Someone has to do it, and since the raw materials left by our ancestors are so rich, I am trying to keep pace with contemporary sensibilities by trying this and that."

Hearing recently that one of her students was considering switching careers to become an insurance planner made her heart ache. She expressed her hope that now, as K-culture sweeps the world, K-Pansori will create a boom not only among global audiences but also for our own traditional sound.

"During the Milan performance, Italian documentary director Leonardo Cignieri Lombroso, deeply moved in the audience, proposed making a documentary titled 'Opera Solo' (working title), which is currently being filmed. It is regrettable that our sound is appreciated abroad but neglected in Korea, but I am continuing to film the documentary, perform complete stages, and present lecture concerts to instill the perception that Pansori is not something old. Only then will a Pansori boom arise, and there will be more stages and opportunities for Pansori performers," she said.