UNDERSTANDING KOREAN CULTURE THROUGH UNESCO WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE PANSORI

Pansori is a traditional Korean art that was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 2003. With its unique voices, captivating stories, and rich music, pansori has been popular among the public for a long time. While pansori has been a topic in folk music and literature, it can also be seen as a field of oral tradition storytelling, as pansori performers communicate with their audience and create new pieces. During the performances, pansori performers add anecdotes that vividly depict the lives of the characters, which reflect the daily lives and culture of the people of the time. Thus, pansori can be a valuable historical source for understanding the culture of the Joseon dynasty, including social customs and folk beliefs. This paper aims to examine the social consciousness and folk beliefs of traditional Koreans by exploring the content of pansori as a historical source.