Chunhyangga
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''Chunhyangga'' () is a '' pansori'' folktale from
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
''.'' Being a pansori, ''Chunhyangga'' is a narrative art form, and is traditionally performed by two people: a singer and drummer. There is also a story based on the ''Chunhyangga'' pansori called '' Chunhyangjeon.'' It is now one of five surviving Pansoris in Korea, each focusing on one of the Five Confucian virtues. The other remaining stories are '' Simcheongga'', '' Heungbuga'', '' Jeokbyeokga'' and '' Sugungga''. Among these, ''Chunhyangga'' is the longest. In 1969, ''pansori'' master singer Park Dong-jin sang ''Chunhyangga'' for eight hours (surprising his audience). The original version of ''Chunhyangga'' was not that long, but has been greatly developed over time. The diverse ''pansori'' singers who have performed it have contributed famous '' deoneum,'' so it is valuable musically and historically. There are no records confirming the exact time when ''Chunhyangga'' was written. ''Chunhyangga'' can be found in ''Manwhajip'' written by Yu Jin-han during the
Joseon Dynasty Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...
, as well as in ''Mugeukhangrok'' of the same era written by Juik-Yang. Therefore, it supposed that ''Chunhyangga'' has existed since before
Sukjong of Joseon Sukjong (; 7 October 1661 – 12 July 1720), personal name Yi Sun (), was the 19th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. A skilled legislator, he caused multiple changes in political power throughout his reign, by switching among the Namin ...
(1661–1720).


Plot

Set in
Namwon Namwon (, ) is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. Namwon is about 50 minutes from the provincial capital of Jeonju, which is almost three hours away from Seoul. The official city flower is Royal Azalea () while the city tree is the ...
in the
Jeolla Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as wel ...
province, ''Chunhyangga'' tells the story of love between Chunhyang (춘향), the daughter of a '' kisaeng'' entertainer, and Yi Mongryong (이몽룡), the son of a magistrate. After the two are illegally married, Mongryong is forced to go to Seoul and live with his father. Since their marriage must remain a secret due to class constraints, Chunhyang must remain behind when a corrupt local magistrate, Byeon the vicious (변학도), attempts to force her to be his concubine. She refuses due to her love and loyalty to Mongryong, and is faced with death, but is rescued at the last minute by Mongryong returning in his new role as a
secret royal inspector The secret royal inspector in Korea was a temporary position unique to the Joseon Dynasty, in which an undercover official directly appointed by the king was sent to local provinces to monitor government officials and look after the populace whil ...
. When performed, Chunhyangga is composed of seven parts, each with a different feeling conveyed by the singer: # Yi Mongryong and Chunhyang's first meeting at Gwang Hanru. # Mongryong and Chunhyang's love. # Mongryong and Chunhyang's parting. # Byeon's tyranny and Chunhyang's imprisonment. # Mongryong wins first place in a state examination and meets Chunhyang again. # Byeon is punished and Mongryong and Chunhyang live a long and happy life. # Mongryong is officially married to Chunhyang.


Story Themes

Perhaps the most agreed-upon interpretation of ''Chunhyangga'' is a resistance to aristocracy. The
Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...
Dynasty was heavily rooted in Confucian values. As such, the story deals with 2 of the 3 Fundamental Bonds within
Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...
ideology: ruler to subject, and husband to wife. Chunhyang defies the command of her direct authority, the evil magistrate, in favor of remaining faithful to Mongryong. In the end, her loyalty is rewarded, and her marriage to someone of a higher class is legitimized- making this a tale that defies the societal norms of the time period. Another theme present is that of '' Han,'' the concept of longstanding suffering and resentment in Korean people due to the group's history of oppression. Chunhyang is tortured by her oppressor and endures deep suffering, a euphemism for the Han that Koreans have faced throughout their existence.


Modern adaptations

The story has been adapted into films, the most recent being
Im Kwon-taek Im Kwon-taek (; born December 8, 1934) is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards, as well as considerable box-office success, ...
's '' Chunhyang'' in 2000. It was also the basis of the successful Korean romantic comedy series '' Sassy Girl Chun-hyang''. It has also been converted to a successful children's musical, performed in English by Theater Seoul entirely by children and youth. This show has been brought to the
Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
Festival twice, once to the Underbelly (2006) and once to C venues (2007). '' Legend of Chun Hyang'', a
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
by Clamp, is loosely based on this story. '' Sugar Rush Ride'', a single by South Korean boy band
Tomorrow x Together Tomorrow X Together (; Tomorrow by Together, stylized in all caps), commonly abbreviated as TXT, is a South Korean boy group formed by Big Hit Entertainment. The group consists of five members: Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and HueningK ...
(Big Hit Music, 2023) borrows some of its lyrics from Chunhyangga. The couple also appeared in the Korean/Japanese manhwa '' Shin angyo onshi'' adapting story parts of the original song.


See also

*
Korean folklore Stories and practices that are considered part of Korean folklore go back several thousand years. These tales derive from a variety of origins, including Korean Shamanism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and more recently Christianity. Many folklore, fo ...
* Korean literature * Korean music * Pansori * Pansori gosu *
Culture of Korea The traditional culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea before the division of Korea in 1945. Since the mid-20th century, Korea has been split between the North Korean and South Korean sovereign state, stat ...


References

{{reflist


External links


The Ch'unhyang Story
- from Instrok.org, created by East Rock Institute
National Changguk Company of Korea
Pansori Korean folklore