Symposium on “Pansori in Europe” in Berlin, inc. Performance (July 14–15, 2017) #europansori

Planned since last summer, the symposium on “Pansori in Europe: Between Mediation and Appropriation” at the Korean Culture Center in Berlin is now merely a week away. (Almost) Everything is set, speakers are preparing, and the pansori singer Yun Jin-chul (윤진철) and drummer Cho Yong-su (조용수), who will perform Jeokbyeok-ga (적벽가, “Song of the Red Cliff”) in full on the 14th (at ufaFabrik, see Facebook-event for details), are almost on their way.

The symposium which I organized together with Matthias Entreß features scholars and practitioners, experts on pansori as well as artists and organizers who have to deal with the realities of presenting this traditional performing art to audiences outside of Korea.

The symposium takes place on Saturday, July 15, at “space GODO” at the Korean Cultural Center (Leipziger Platz 3, 10117 Berlin). From 11am to 6.30pm, lectures, presentations, and many discussions offer a diverse program for everyone interested in theatre, music, and cultural transfers between Asia and Europe.

The first part (on mediation) is about more “traditional” guest performances by masters from Korea and includes – besides Matthias who has organized numerous pansori performances all over Germany – also Hervé Péjaudier and Han Yumi who have done similar work in France and have just organized a performance of the “lost” pansori piece Le Dit de Demoiselle Sugyeong (숙영낭자가) at their K-Vox Festival. Discussants include Heinz-Dieter Reese (who organised the 1985 “Horizonte”-festival in Berlin) and musicologist Shin-Hyang Yun.

In the second part, on experimental appropriation, various ways of adapting pansori to new contexts will be discussed. Barbara Wall (Hamburg) and Dorothea Suh (Halle) will talk about new pansori works by Korean and German artists, respectively. Then, theatre makers Soogi Kang and Dietmar Lenz (Theater Salpuri, Berlin), composers Il-Ryun Chung (Berlin), Jared Redmond (Seoul), and Sebastian Claren (Berlin), and cultural curator Hyo Jin Shin (Berlin) will discuss their experiences with border-crossing pansori-related projects. Singer Sol-i So (Dresden), accompanied by drummer Harim Kim (Berlin), will showcase some songs and rhythms and share their unique perspectives as Korea-trained musicians in Germany.

With a wonderful line-up of scholars and practitioners, the symposium promises interesting presentations and in-depth discussions — I’m looking forward to learn more about various aspects of how pansori is performed, taught, and made fruitful for new art works in Europe!

The event will be mostly in German, but we attempt to provide some help for those who rely on English. An introductory essay (also in German) is available online.

This is the full flyer of the event – please share widely (click for a larger version):

And this is the translated announcement and the program:

Pansori in Europe: Between Mediation and Appropriation

Pansori, a traditional genre of singing/storytelling is well known beyond the borders of Korea, not least since its appointment as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2003. Even before, master singers from Korea have performed in Europe and non-Korean researchers and artists show great interest into this idiosyncratic art, characterized by epic tales and vocal virtuosity. Today, guest performances and cross-border artistic collaborations are nothing unusual. At the same time, a lively pansori culture is emerging in Europe, with workshops, competitions and new artistic works.

Which forms of performance were crucial in the “European” reception of pansori? How can audiences outside of Korea be familiarized with this foreign tradition and what experiences are possible? With other arts lend themselves for intercultural experiments? Which role does a cultural heritage play for Korean migrants and the following generations? Who organizes artistic exchanges, and how? What concrete “interweavings” result from these encounters? And is it possible, between cultural policies and creative appropriation, to secure that the authenticity of the art does not get lost in translation?

Scholars of music, theatre, and literature from Germany, France, Korea, and the US are invited to discuss these and other questions historical, aesthetic and practical perspectives in Berlin. With lectures, discussion roundtables, and – of course – pansori performances, we attempt not only to review the history and current practice of pansori in Europe, but also to explore methods for future projects.

Program

11 am: Opening

Welcome address

Introductory lecture by Jan Creutzenberg

11.30 am –1.30 pm: Part 1 “Translation and Mediation”

Lecture by Matthias R. Entreß

Panel discussion with pansori artists Yun Jin-chul and Cho Yong-su

Lecture-performance by Hervé Péjaudier and Han Yumi (in English)

Discussion

1.30–2.30 pm: Lunch break

2.30–3.30 pm: Discussion on *pansori* as music

With musicians, composers, and musicologists

3.30–6 pm Part 2 “Revival, Experiment and Appropriation”

Lecture by Barbara Wall

Lecture by Dorothea Suh

Discussion on experimental appropriation of pansori, with artists, theatremakers, and composers

6 pm: Roundtable discussion on “Perspectives for Pansori in Europe”

— 14–15 July 2017 (金~土)