It is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Im Bang Ul, and starting Monday and there are various events commemorating his spirit getting started in Gwangju. Im was born in 1905 and died in 1961, so he experienced the most unfortunate period in modern Korean history. He spent the prime of his life with the sadness of having lost his country and after Liberation he lived through extreme social confusion, a fratricidal war, and poverty. That is why he was able to sing in a tone that carried the pain of the common people and move people of all sorts, making him the greatest of singers.
The most important aspect of performance art such as pansori is what is referred to as its "improvisatorial" nature. As a performer Im made a departure from the long established traditions and ways of pansori and made his singing reflect the tastes of 20th century audiences that had new tastes. His aniri (spoken narrative between sections that are sung) were a fine combination of risqué portrayals and simple dialectal language, and it was the result of his persistent effort to win the hearts of common people in their poverty and frustration. Later a scholar would say about Im that he was a "wandering poet who sang of the sorrow and frustrations of the common people using their own words and expressions in country markets or river beaches instead of on fancy stages." That is why he is called a gukchang (a national singer) instead of a myeongchang (a "great" singer).
Many times in his later years Im would vomit blood and collapse while performing. Still he would go on, saying, "when he who sings no longer sings he is as good as dead." His sad artistic spirit can be seen in how he created his own tradition from the sublime and relaxed dongpyeonje tradition that he learned first and touching gyemyeon tempo of the seopyeonje tradition. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth we meditate on his art and how it demonstrated that art which truly moves people's hearts has body and spirit poured into it and is not just about simple technique
The Hankyoreh, 25 September 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] The Lessons of Im Bang Ul |
