'Les Mis?rables' Reborn as Korean Pansori

Young Sori-kkun and Gosu Perform 'Les Mis?rables'... A Collaboration Between Sinchon Cultural Development Center and Ip-gwa Son Studio... Victor Hugo's Novel 'Les Mis?rables' Reimagined as Pansori... New Experimental Stage on October 23-24 at Sinchon Cultural Development Center Small Theater

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) will stage ‘Pansori Les Mis?rables Short Story Series 1. Fantine,’ reborn through the sounds of Korea, at 7:30 PM on the 23rd and 3 PM on the 24th at the Shinchon Culture Development Center (57 Yonsei-ro 2na-gil) small theater stage.

This performance is a new work by Ipgasun Studio (CEO Lee Hyang-ha), which does not connect a single story into a complete narrative but applies the performance method of Talchum (Korean mask dance) and presents it in the form of a Pansori madang (stage).

Focusing on the life of the character ‘Fantine’ from the novel Les Mis?rables, short stories unfold from various perspectives and come together to form one work.

In each madang, the sorikkun (Pansori singer) examines the character Fantine and the events she experienced from multiple angles, minimizing the protagonist’s spatiotemporal background and focusing the story on the events.

This setting allows the audience to feel that the story of ‘Fantine’ in Les Mis?rables is not limited to a single era but transcends time and can be applied to us in the present.

Lee Hyang-ha, CEO of Ipgasun Studio, stated, “The author’s perspective in the novel Les Mis?rables does not deeply engage with any event, which resembles the viewpoint of a Pansori sorikkun, making it interesting. Musically, there were many challenges to try, so we selected it as a performance work.”

‘Ipgasun Studio’ is a creative collective of sorikkun and gosu (drummers) who have worked together on Pansori creation. Since its founding in 2017, sorikkun Lee Seung-hee, Kim So-jin, and gosu Kim Hong-sik, Lee Hyang-ha, and Shin Seung-tae have collaboratively created writing, composition, music, and direction, experimenting with the diverse possibilities of the Pansori performance style.

In the future, three short Pansori stories will be created focusing on the lives of characters in Les Mis?rables, the events surrounding them, and the author’s social perspective.

Admission for this performance is 20,000 KRW for all seats, and it will be conducted strictly following quarantine rules such as temperature checks and mask-wearing. Detailed information can be found on the Shinchon Culture Development Center website or by phone.

Since its opening in June 2018, the Shinchon Culture Development Center has established itself as a cultural and artistic space that supports the creative activities of young cultural artists and grows together with them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.