Pansori is a traditional Korean performance art that combines singing, rhythmic speech, dramatic narration, and gesture to tell long, emotional stories. A pansori performance is usually done by just two people: a singer/storyteller called the sorikkun (소리꾼) and a drummer called the gosu (고수).

The singer performs multiple characters, changes voices and moods, and uses expressive body language while the drummer keeps rhythm and shouts encouragements called chuimsae (추임새) [“eolssigu!” (얼씨구), “johta!” (좋다), etc.] to energize the performance.

Pansori developed during Korea’s Joseon era (roughly 17th–19th centuries) and blends folk traditions with literary storytelling. The word itself comes from: pan = a public gathering or performance space, and sori = sound or song.

A full traditional pansori story can last several hours. Historically there were twelve classic stories, but only five survive in complete form today:

• Chunhyangga (춘향가) — a romance about loyalty and love
• Simcheongga (심청가) — a daughter sacrifices herself for her blind father
• Heungbuga (흥부가) — comedic tale of two brothers
• Sugungga (수궁가) — a fantastical underwater animal story
• Jeokbyeokga ( 적벽가) — based on battles from the Chinese Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Musically, pansori is known for:

• powerful, rough, emotionally charged vocals
• flexible rhythm patterns [jangdan (장단)]
• improvisation
• dramatic tension between spoken and sung passages

Because of its cultural importance, UNESCO recognized pansori as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on November 7, 2003.