E2024-G004
Echoes of Seopyeonje: Transforming Tradition into Culture
Narrative
The Southern school of pansori (epic chant) once echoed through the mountains and waterways of the Jeolla region, including Gwangju, serving as a regionally rooted art form and a narrative expression of the Korean people’s emotions. Among its various styles, seopyeonje (western style) became widely known for its aesthetics of sorrowful expression and established a distinct artistic lineage. This tradition originated with the master singer Bak Yu-jeon (1835-1906) and spread throughout the southern region through his disciples.
Writer Yi Cheong-jun (1939-2008) captured the aesthetics and artistic spirit of seopyeonje in literary form through his works Seopyeonje and The Wanderer of Seonhakdong Village (Seonhakdong nageune). These stories portrayed the decline of traditional arts, the conflict within artistic families, and the disconnection of sound from its era, using the lives of itinerant singers to reflect the pain and nobility inherent in art. Yi’s works were later adapted into films by director Im Kwon-taek (1934– ), a major figure in Korean cinema, resulting in Seopyeonje (1993) and Beyond the Years (2007). Through visual artistry and music, Im translated the emotional core of the original stories into cinematic narratives, elevating seopyeonje into a shared cultural memory of a generation.
Since then, seopyeonje has been reinterpreted in various forms such as musicals and traditional Korean opera, evolving from classical art into cultural content shaped by changing media and times. Today, seopyeonje is no longer merely a musical school—it has become a symbolic narrative of Korean culture, expanding from traditional art into modern content.
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