In our last post, we talked about Minyo, and in this post, we’ll talk about Japga, Yipchang, Pansori, and Byeongchang. These four types of folk music can be categorized into two groups based on their musical similarities, the first being Japga and Yipchang, and the second being Pansori and Byeongchang.

Japga is a long-form song sung by professional musicians and is categorized into Gyeongi Japga, Seodo Japga, and Namdo Japga depending on the region, with Gyeongi Japga and Seodo Japga being called Jwachang which means singing while sitting down, and Namdo Japga being called Yipchang which means singing while standing up. Tongsok Minyo, a singing style we covered in a previous post, is also very similar to Japga in that it is sung by professional musicians and categorized by region, and some scholars actually consider the two to be the same style. However, in the case of Tongsok Minyo, the famous Hyangto Minyo was sung throughout the country, so it is only Minyo after all, and in the case of Japga, it can be considered fundamentally different because it is sung about things that do not match a certain form of poetry, such as Sijo, which is Korean traditional three-verse poem, or lyrics, and cannot be categorized separately.

Japga is classified according to region as mentioned above, and among them, Gyeongi Japga, which was sung in the Gyeonggi region centered on Seoul, is divided into Twelve Jpaga and Huimori Japga. Twelve Japga is also called Long Japga because it has a long form of song, and it is divided into 8 Japga and Sub-Japga. The 8 Japga are Yusanga, Jukbyeokga, Jebiga, Jipjangga, Sochunhyangga, Seonyuga, Hyeongjangga, and Pyeongyangga, and the Sub-Japga are Dalguri, Sipjangga, Bangmulga, and Chulinga.

Huimori Japga is a Japga that was usually played by Korean Geisha and professional musicians, and it is said that in the old days, when musicians gathered to perform, they would play Long Japga first, then Seonsori, which is another name for Yipchang, and finally Huimori Japga. Huimori japga is played with the Huimori rhythm, which is one of the traditional Korean rhythms similar to the Presto in Western classical music, and there are many songs such as Gombotaryeong and Gisengtaryeong.

Seodo Japga is a Japga played in Pyeongan and Hwanghae provinces and is also called Jwachang because it is sung while sitting down, and many songs such as Gonmyongga and Chohanga have been passed down. Namdo Japga is a Japga that is passed down mainly in Southern Jeolla-do, and is similar to Yipchang because it is sung standing up, but it is characterized by having a separate accompanist who plays the shogi or drums. However, the reason why it is classified as Japga despite being Yipchang is that Yipchang is slightly different from the current classification because it is usually sung in the mountains with a mountain theme.

So, what is Yipchang? Yipchang is called Seonsori which means that it is played while standing as like Yipchang, and also called Mountain Taryeong because it is usually played in the mountains with theme of mountains. It is also categorized by region and divided into Gyeonggi Seonsori, Seodo Seonsori, and Namdo Seonsori, and although there are many songs that are currently being taught, it is not as diverse as Japga.

If there is another form of singing that was sung standing up like Japga and Yipchang, it would be Pansori. Despite its lack of songs, it’s one of the most popular forms of song among the people, and to put it simply, it can be thought of as a one-man musical. First of all, Pansori is performed by two people, one called SoriGwangde, which means Sound Clown, who sings and the other called Gosu who plays the Buk, Korean traditional drum. Pansori is also categorized into three different forms depending on the region, but before we get into that, let’s look at the characteristics and terminology.

The Vocalist, called SoriGwangde, creates a play in two forms, one is a song and the other is a talking. The talking is easy to understand if you think of it as the concept of opera’s lecitativo, which is called Aniri in Korean, and the performer communicates with the audience through Aniri to make it fun and interesting. In addition, the vocalist not only sings, but also performs various gestures and simple dances to emphasize the story of the play and make it more interesting, which is called Ballim. In fact, because the role of the Vocalist seems to be so big in Pansori, people don’t realize the role of the Gosu as much as they should, but the Gosu flexibly rises and falls in time with the Vocalist to keep the play from becoming too loose or too exciting, and also adds Chuimse, which is an exclamation such as “good” or “wow,” to liven things up. The role of the gosu is more important than you might think, because if the gosu is not done well, the vocalist can lose his or her footing or fail to control the pace, which can be confusing to the audience and to the musician himself or herself. Pansori also creates drama by adding additional stories to the story being told that the musicians themselves want to expand or emphasize, called Thenuem, and the Pansori as it is told today is the result of the compilation of many Thenuem.

As mentioned, Pansori is categorized into three types depending on the region: DongPyeonJe, which is the Pansori of eastern Jeolla Province, SeoPyeonJe, which is the Pansori of western Jeolla Province, and JungGoJe, which is the Pansori of Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheongdo Province. This is a regional categorization, but it is easier to understand that it is categorized by faction, as the earliest time or person who started the tradition is also different, and since the earliest practitioners are different in each faction, the sound or direction they pursue is different, and the way they tell the story is different.

DongPyeonJe originated with Song Heung-rok, and is characterized by a solemn beginning, often a rough ending to a phrase, and generally a heavy vocalization with bold ornaments. SeoPyeonJe tends to be sad in tone, uses elaborate ornaments, and has a lighter voice. JungGoJe is characterized by rushing, as if reading a text quickly rather than singing, and is somewhere in between DongPyeonJe and SeoPyeonJe, with a vocalization that is generally heavier in tone, but sometimes lighter. The video below is a Pansori play called Simchungga, “Simbongsa opens his eyes,” in the styles of DongPyeonJe and SeoPyeonJe, and it’s interesting to hear the comparison. (Unfortunately, JungGoJe’s play is not passed down much, so I couldn’t find a video.)

Finally, Byeongchang is a sound form in which the singer sings Pansori’s famous lines or Pansori’s Danga (Overture) accompanied by the singer himself on the Gayageum or Geomungo, and it has a different feel from Pansori.