root salad f24 Ahn Sook-sun
She’s a ‘Living Cultural Asset’ in South Korea. Christopher Conder cranks up the Skype.
he warmth of Ahn Sook-sun’s per- sonality is apparent despite our conversation being at two removes – we are doing our best to communicate via Skype from 5,500 miles apart, and are conversing through a trans- lator, Nam Ji-soo. Ahn and Nam have escaped a stifling Seoul hotel room to take refuge in the lobby, and, though our call is frequently interrupted by technical glitch- es, Ahn’s kindly smile is reassuring.
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Born in Namwon, South Korea in 1949 into a family of musicians and performers, Ahn’s primary focus in her youth was the gayageum zither; it was introduced to her at the age of nine by her aunt Kang Soon- youn. Later, she found her way to teacher Joo Kwang-deok to begin her training as a singer in the high art of pansori. If I give an impression of Ahn as a gentle, grandmoth- erly figure, don’t underestimate her. To become one of Korea’s most revered pan- sorists (declared by the government as a ‘Living Cultural Asset’ no less) has taken an
unflinching commitment to her art that few of us in the West can relate to. In her younger days she was known for her extreme schedule of practice; at one point she had lost so much weight and spent so long singing alone in the depths of the National Changguk Company building that she was mistaken for a ghost by the caretaker.
Pansori is a Korean artform dating from the 17th century. Traditionally it is per- formed by a single singer accompanied by a lone musician on the puk (double-headed drum). Using just a fan as a prop, the singer narrates – perhaps ‘embodies’ is a better word – one of five folk tales from the estab- lished canon. In November, Ahn will be per- forming the pansori Heungbuga in the Pur- cell Room at London’s South Bank Centre. It’s a classic fairy tale: packed with all sorts of fantastical elements but ultimately hinging on universal themes like fraternal relation- ships and the consequences of good and bad behaviour. Heung-bu is the hero. Banished by his mean-hearted brother Nol-bu, he
finds an injured swallow and nurses it back to health. The bird then brings him a seed that, like Jack’s beanstalk, provides him and his family with all of their worldly needs and more. Nol-bu hears of this and deliberately cripples a bird, hoping for a similar return. I won’t ruin the rest of the story, except to tell you that goblins make an appearance. The moral of the story, Ahn tells me, reflects Confucian values of brotherhood.
he K-Music series of shows (I remain intransigent that a ‘festi- val’ requires muddy fields) has been a feature of London’s world music scene since 2013. Pansori has twice featured, but this will be the first time one has been performed in full. Contrary to tradition, Ahn will be joined by a second singer, the young male pansorist Kim Jun- su. The drummer will be Cho Yong-su. Heungbuga is typically the shortest pansori to perform, and is scheduled to last for ‘just’ three hours, with an interval. I sus- pect the piece will have to be performed at a good clip, as elsewhere I’ve seen its run- ning time listed as being up to five hours. There will be surtitles for non-Korean speakers but nonetheless,
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I suggest to Ahn, this might be a bit daunting to the uninitiated. She assures me that unlike, say, a Western classical concert, the audience doesn’t have to stay silent. In fact, she explains, the role of the audience is as integral and formalised as those of the singer and the drummer. Knowledgeable audience members are encouraged to par- ticipate by shouting out. For example, she says, when Heung-bu keeps his patience against Nol-bu’s aggravations, the audience cheers his virtue.
“Do not misunderstand me,” translator Nam interjects, fearing I might get the wrong end of the stick. “If Nol-bu hits Heung-bu very well, the audience can also say ‘jalhanda’ – ‘good job’”. The audience doesn’t have to side with the goodies! The Internet has various stern warnings that chuimsae (the name for this audience par- ticipation) should only be used by pansori connoisseurs who know what they are doing, but it just makes me think of English pantomime again. I’ll be the chap at the back shouting, “He’s behind you!”
Ahn Sook-sun, Kim Jun-su and Cho
Yong-su perform Heungbuga at the Purcell Room in London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on the 3rd of November. If three hours is too little for you, don’t miss the pre-show talk with producer and raconteur, Joe Boyd.
facebook.com/AhnSookSun F
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