[YeitSuda] ‘SangyeotSori’ Singing a New Beginning in the Face of Death

“Bukmang sancheon meodadeoni nae jip ap-i bukmang-ilse ije gamyeon eonje ona osil nalina illa juo”

As funeral culture modernized, it has become rare to see, but in the past, when a funeral was held, one could often hear the ‘sangyeot sori’?a song sung by pallbearers carrying the coffin. It was a song to mourn the deceased, but since the dead could not hear it, it ultimately served as music to comfort the hearts of the living. When the lead singer, the sangyeo sori-kkun, sang the lead part, several pallbearers would respond with the chorus or split into two groups to sing back and forth. The lead singer needed not only a strong voice but also skillful rhythm and the wit to improvise lyrics on the spot.

Sangyeo Sound Demonstration in Bonghyeon-ri, Gongju-si, Chungnam.
Photo by Gongju-si

The sorrowful sangyeot sori contains the sadness of parting, hopes for eternal life, and the impermanence of life. Still, those who have left are gone, and the living must go on. To comfort the bereaved who were immersed in grief, the pallbearers sometimes used the pretense of practice the day before the funeral to perform a playful empty-coffin game to lighten the mood. When the pallbearers carried the empty coffin and sang sangyeot sori in the funeral yard, the bereaved family would offer them food and drinks such as alcohol, side dishes, and chicken porridge. When the bereaved and acquaintances of the deceased became quite intoxicated, friends would step in to play the role of a fake chief mourner, lamenting the deceased, or playfully put the bereaved on the coffin and engage in games, sharing their feelings and briefly forgetting their sorrow while forming a bond.

Perhaps because of the common belief that a corpse is heavier, the coffin was usually very heavy, so villagers formed pallbearer groups and took turns carrying the coffin at funerals, requiring ten to over thirty strong men to lift and carry it. There was a region where only women carried this heavy coffin. The ‘Yeondo Women’s Sangyeot Sori’ passed down in Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, is a rare case where women took the lead in conducting funerals. A resident of Yeondo in the 1980s explained in an oral account, “It’s understandable that men living on the island went out to sea on fishing boats to make a living, but during the Pacific War when young men were drafted, it was truly rare to see any men on this island. So when a funeral happened, what could we do? Women had to conduct the funeral.” While painful history was one reason, the island’s long-standing oral folklore also played a role. There was a Jangsasaem (warrior’s spring) east of Yeondo, and if a man drank from this spring, he would either become a warrior with a fate of evil or become disabled. To avoid misfortune, villagers filled in the spring, which led to a tendency to avoid strong men. Consequently, women took the lead in daily life and even carried the coffin to conduct funerals.

In an era when pallbearers had to gather to carry the coffin, now replaced by hearses, the sangyeot sori, once filled with both sorrow and laughter, has faded into the solemn atmosphere inside funeral halls and become forgotten. Preserved as a work, it can now only be heard on stage. The National Gugak Center’s folk orchestra performance ‘Wearing Flower Shoes, Fluttering’ brings together regional sounds from Seodo, Namdo, and Gyeonggi. From the poignant and calm ‘Seodo Sangyeot Sori,’ to the ‘Gyeonggi Sangyeot Sori’ that sings various emotions of life, and the lively ‘Namdo Sangyeot Sori’ that blows away life’s regrets with excitement. Though now a preserved cultural heritage frozen in time, sangyeot sori still conveys the message that death is not the end but a new beginning, and peace encountered at life’s end to the vanished mourners and new audiences alike.

Editor's NoteYeitsuda (藝It Suda) is an abbreviation for “Art Talk,” a column covering issues and trends across the arts, including music, fine arts, and performances.

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