Seopyonje (서편제) was released in 1993 and is arguably one of the most influential films made in Korea. 1993 is remembered in this country as an era of rapidly changing cultural values, the beginning of the Democratic Party as the main political powerhouse, and the absolute cultural dominance of Seopyonje. The film attracted one million audience members, won international honours, and inspired the Korean movie industry to produce other films on Korean traditional music, or pansori . Interest in forgotten Korean traditional culture blossomed, and even cram schools and tutorial centres offered courses in pansori. A performance involves two people: one is the drummer, or gosu , and the other is the singer. The latter sings using a trained voice and occasionally makes particular sounds depending on the story. If a ghost appears, the singer imitates the sound of a ghost. If the wind blows, the singer makes the sound of wind. It might be likened to the concept of the Western opera.
"1993 is remembered in this country as an era of rapidly changing cultural values, the beginning of the Democratic Party as the main political powerhouse, and the absolute cultural dominance of Seopyonje."
In the film, a family of pansori performers wanders about various places and lives for only one thing, their love of music. However, the life of pansori performers is not easy. They are constantly disrespected because of their low social status and suffer hunger and poverty. The youngest son eventually leaves the family in search of a better life, while his father, anxious to pass on his skills to his daughter, blinds her so that she might focus on her music. He does this not only to help her focus but also to teach her the traditional concept of Han (한). This is fundamental to pansori and is vividly portrayed in the film. It is believed that the sound of pansori should be based in Han, which is roughly translated as “deep sorrow.” Mastering pansori means the practitioner has fully understood the Han and is able to express it in the form of vocal sounds. Once this stage is complete, the practitioner is then required to overcome Han to makes sounds “complete” or “nothing more than just sound.” The pansori was traditionally practiced by wandering entertainers who held very low rank in the Korean hierarchical system. They suffered much oppression and disrespect, so that pansori practitioners were supposed to inherit the spirit of suffering souls to make the “true sound of the soul.” However, the practice is dying out due to lack of interest.
The title of the movie, Seopyonje, refers to a branch of pansori which originated and was practiced in the western Korean peninsula. There is another form of pansori called Dongpyonje (동편제), which was practiced in the eastern region. This latter style is a traditional approach to pansori, and it relies heavily on the power of the voice. Therefore, practitioners were required to have an innately large voice box, as opposed to the newly developed Seopyonje, which requires a relatively more sophisticated technique, relying on suitable modification of vocal sounds to add beauty and flavour.
Language-wise, the film displays rich traditional Korean words which, unfortunately, are no longer used today. The main difference between standard modern Korean and other various forms of Korean are the phrase endings. In the former, phrases usually end with “-요” (yo), as a show of politeness, and this is the most widely accepted usage regardless of social rank. However, in the film, the “-오” (o) ending is used, which today is only employed by elderly Koreans. Another interesting linguistic feature in the movie is the frequent appearance of the word “Han.” As was already mentioned, it roughly translates into “deep sorrow,” but there is no exact equivalent in English, as the word contains more complex meanings. Some might call it “desire,” but Han is a passive feeling, it yearns for something but does not seek it. Han is at the heart of Korean culture and is also an essential abstract concept that is frequently used in Korean shamanism. Some scholars argue that the word arose to describe the misery of the victims of frequent invasions from neighbouring tribes, such as the Khitans, the Manchus, the Mongols, and the Japanese. Others argue that the word derives from the strong hierarchical system in Korea. Finally, people often combine Han with other words to express something more specific. Examples of this include: 정한(loving attachment and sorrow), 원한(deep grudge or resentment) , 망국한 (patriotic sorrow after collapse of country), and 중생한 (the sorrow of every living organism, usually mankind).
