Program Information

Although its narrative has been passed down, the musical Pansori Byeongangsoe-ga hasn’t been performed in the modern era because censors have regarded the work as lewd and grotesque. This performance focuses on the perspective of the character Ong-nyeo, who was once considered an unchaste woman. The performance recreates the work’s major scenes and condenses its impact through a creative musical. 

When Ong-nyeo was 15 years old, her first husband died without reason. Since then, every man she meets passes away within a year for various reasons. Finally, villagers start to blame her for her husbands’ death, saying that she is doomed to be widowed and that her strong female energy killed her husbands. In the end, she is kicked out of the village in Pyeongan Province and hits the road for a new life. In Jeolla Province, she meets a famous libertine called Byen-gang-soe and marries him soon after, dreaming of living happily and sincerely.

However, her new husband is a lousy man living with gambling, violence, and alcohol. Ong-nyeo cannot endure his irresponsibility anymore and forces him to gather firewood on the mountain. But he is too lazy to climb the mountain so he just cuts down the sacred totem pole protecting the village. The sacred spirits rage and he gets his comeuppance of suffering for days with a plague. Dying, he asks Ong-nyeo to live the rest of her life as a widow, remaining faithful to her deceased husband. He also warns that she die if she meets another man after his death.

After the death of Byen-gang-soe, a monk and a rash man chase after Ong-nyeo who is so beautiful. She suggests that they live with her in return for dealing with the corpse, but they die instantly, shocked by Byen-gang-soe’s hideous death.

Pessimistic about marrying a new guy, Ong-nyeo decides to end her pathetic life of losing spouses. Just before her death, she recollects her past hopes and dreams, and she makes a new decision.​ 

2018  Weiwuying Center for the Arts & Pingtung Performing Arts Center / Taiwan

2017  Journey to korean music / Duri theater / Korea, Seoul

2017  Seoul Namsan Traditional Theater / Korea, Seoul

2017  Grand prize (KBsori prize) winner at ‘Sori Frontier’ / Jeon-ju int’l Sori Festival

Company Information

Narae Lee is a pansori singer who has constantly reflected on and problematized the representation of women in traditional Pansori, an art form that developed under the influence of Confucian culture. As part of this inquiry, she casts a new light on Byeongangsoe-ga, a narrative that is a particularly strong example of patriarchal values in the genre of Pansori, by focusing on the perspective of the ill-fated female character Ong-nyeo. She then recreates this work through a variety of artistic styles. She combines a wide range of sounds and spoken words and refuses them in music. She also incorporates other musical influences freely. She thus inherits the tradition of Pansori while recharging it with today’s creative energy. 

• Tour Size : 5 (Performers : 4 / Staff : 1)
• Duration : 70
• Stage Size : Width 10m, Depth 10m, ()