There is traditional Korean vocalist, or sorikkun, Han Seung Seok, who learned the virtues of tradition through his exploration of pansori, gut (a shamanistic ceremony), and percussion. And then there is multitalented musical genius Jung Jaeil, whose artistic endeavors encompass all that is possible through modern music. The two were attracted to the universal message of the ＜The Tale of Princess Bari＞, finding meaning in Bari’s forgiveness as she saves the lives of the parents who abandoned her. They also recognized a sense of humanity in the story that went beyond national boundaries. Although “in a world dense with dust, where can you find an open life (from the song ),” they say, but the 11 songs on their album 《Bari, Abandoned》(2014) seem to pray for a world a little bit more free of dust. The piece goes beyond merely combining traditional Korean music and Western music, instead managing to create a sense of dignity of its own, with values that resonate with today’s audiences.

Music that is born when the legacy of the past meets the language of the present

Q(Min Chung-hong): Congratulations on your PAMS Choice selection. Do you remember when you first met?

Jung Jae-il(henceforth "Jung") : Very clearly. Han Seung Seok was then a member of the National Changgeuk Company of Korea. He had horn-rimmed glasses and was carrying a briefcase, and was wearing a coat that a lawyer might have worn. I thought he must be the head of the agency (laughs).

Han Seung Seok(henceforth “Han”) : That was when I was involved in the group Puri with Won il and Kim Woong-sik, maybe toward the end of 2001. I then heard from someone that they had this talented friend named Jung Jaeil, and would I like to work with him? (When we first met) he didn’t have the charisma one might have expected from a genius in terms of appearance or manners, so inwardly I remained on my guard. But during the course of our first project together, Binari, when I heard him contribute his bass and gueum, a traditional oral technique, to my songs, it occurred to me that he was perfect.

Q : So, apart from Puri, you’ve been involved in many other projects, both on your own and together, over the past 13 years. Now, in 2014, what is it about traditional Korean music that continues to attract you, given that you’ve shown it such consistent loyalty?

Jung : Traditional music is very powerful. There’s an energy akin to coughing up blood, an energy of the artist expressing everything within them. I’m especially into singing and Korean shaman music, and although I’ve heard a lot of traditional music from the world over, I’ve never seen art like this anywhere else—a beauty that almost paralyzes. I began with Western popular music, which is why I want to have what I just described. And that’s why I continue to experiment musically.

Q : The results of that experimentation can be found within 《Bari, Abandoned》. A particularly important aspect of the album is that it’s not satisfied to remain as a mere “reproduction” of traditional Korean music. But at the same time, there are aspects that are hard to explain away with terms like “crossover” or “collaboration.”

Han : We weren’t concerned with fusion traditional Korean music, globalization, or widespread acclaim. Our only concern was “to do what we can do, and do it well.” We did hope that more people would understand our music. You can feel a powerful energy from the beginning to the end of a pansori performance, but we were always thinking about for how much longer pansori songs would remain firmly within the domain of a small group of fans, song meanings unrecognized, and whether, like most Korean of art forms, pansori could ever have universal appeal. So I did hope that Jung’s instruments could be more approachable to audiences. I was able to confirm the potential of this when we worked on a song called ＜Jaryong Shoots His Bow and Arrow＞, a song from (the classic pansori) ＜Jeokbyeokga＞. In the process of embracing each other’s musical language and recreating it, although we may not have hit upon anything huge, we did find ourselves with something in a new class all on its own.

Jung : Through my work with Puri, I realized that when dealing with tradition, the composer shouldn’t assert himself too strongly—so instead I focused on making it easier for the vocalists to express themselves through the music. Here, the original form of the pansori was important, but I also thought that to really bring out the sigimsae (the decorative musical elements or melodies that adorn the beginning or end of a piece in traditional music) and qi (氣), or energy, we needed harmony. Even when you’re singing a well-known ditty like “The School Bell Rings, Ring Ring Ring,” depending on how it’s harmonized, it can be a completely different song. So I worked with the piano, which could take on the role of the gosu, or the traditional drummer, to create the dynamic necessary to make the piece successful, and also introduce a harmony while maintaining the original sound.

A song of abandonment, forgiveness, farewell, production and disintegration, hope and salvation

Q : More than anything, the album is an accomplishment with a significant meaning. Yes, it recreates the episodes of the original story, but also alludes to the joys and sorrows of being human (the song ＜Laundry＞). By projecting the process of searching for the water of life onto the figure of a young African refugee, it also recalls a love of humanity (the song ＜Crossing Children＞). The story, remade with a modern face, is also interesting.

Jung : I want to turn the praise over to Pai Sam-shik, the author of the beautiful lyrics.

Han : That’s right. The three of us gathered and debated. That’s how the sub-topics and layout of the album were completed. In some respects, Bari is an obvious subject because she’s always been an icon of forgiveness, representing salvation and hope. But we strongly believed that she could be part of a message for this chaotic world. I’ve heard praise for how we’ve used traditional music to approach heavy topics or social problems, and I’m happy about that. I’ve always put a lot of pressure on myself personally as well. I didn’t want those who only listened to the form of the music to feel exhilarated or regretful. I wanted to tell my story, and that’s partly why I couldn’t stay away from this era. The Tale of Princess Bari is an old one (pansori work), but it definitely contains values that resonate in the present.

Q : ＜The Tale of Princess Bari＞ isn’t alone in being an old story with values, is it? Can you go into greater detail on your reasons for selecting ＜The Tale of Princess Bari＞, and why you saw contemporary characteristics in the tale?

Jung : To be precise, there’s a considerable amount of distance between the original tale of Princess Bari and our album. But partly because didn’t bring all of the story lines to life, we thought it was even more important that we pay attention to the “emotion” of the tale. That might have been expressed through a song like ＜Maybe, Maybe Mero Maybe＞, through which we commemorate Nepalese worker Madup Kuwer, who died of overwork as an illegal immigrant, or through ＜Song Without＞, a song of hatred, blame, and missing someone. More than anything, the part that struck me most during my work on this album was the fact that Bari had been abandoned by her parents. Thus, she had to be responsible for her own salvation, and became a deity to guide the souls of the deceased, offering salvation to other souls.

Han : The song ＜Bari, Abandoned＞ has lyrics that go “Become bari, abandoned, and go,” which I’ll take as an example. Originally the lyrics went, “Become bari, abandoned, and be gone, poverty,” but later we purposely injected more intentionality into the phrase. In other words, it’s not about struggling in pain, but abandoning abandonment, so that you have the energy to go on. But these days I am confused. When I look at the state of our age, I can’t properly judge whether forgiveness will result in good. I try to sing with certainty, but I wonder if this is truly right … I do believe that it’s important to live with a belief of the goodness in humanity, a conclusion that comes from thousands of accumulated years of history, but there is a part of my mind that remains doubtful because I lack introspection, and because I haven’t come to such a conclusion in my own life.

Q : I can certainly empathize with that statement—all the more reason that I hope that this piece can reach audiences farther away, beyond the national boundaries of Korea.

Jung : The power of pansori and traditional Korean vocal artistry has always crossed national borders. I believe in their power.

Han : I’m on the fence. Traditional pansori performance is unique and powerful, but I’m wondering how audiences will react to and understand our interpretation of it, which includes Western instruments. They may like the quietly hidden messages in the lyrical songs, or the musical beauty, but I wonder if they might not hold a different opinion on the other aspects of our arrangements.

Q : They lyrics may be in Korean, but even I could not understand 100 percent of the words with my first listen. Despite that, Bari moved me intuitively, and I believe that it will convey this quality to the other audiences too. I wish you success, and will end this interview with a question on your plans for the future.

Han : We’re collecting material, little by little, and currently discussing how we will embrace not only Korean subjects but also world classics. We also like stories about life, particularly that deal with jeong—love and affection—and whether we decide to approach it through love or friendship. We’re currently thinking of music that can knit all this together.

Jung : I’ve recently been involved in everything I could possibly do through music, from popular music to documentaries, working on the music for the movie ＜Haemoo＞, my involvement in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, the play ＜Incendies＞, and an installation project with Jang Seung-min called The Moments. Of these, the work that I did with Han Seung Seok is what I can, with certainty, claim as the work of artist Jung Jae-il. This project was especially meaningful in that I learned a bit more about what genuine collaboration was, and what kind of energy could come from it. I believe that I can do even better from now on. The next project would be an album, a pansori piece, an opera, or a requiem. We want to keep working tirelessly, and do anything possible with language.

Han : As I gifted this album to some of my friends, I also wrote that, “For the first time, it seemed like I did something in this world.” It really does feel like I’ve at last filled my role in this world and done something truly “me.” Looking forward, my goal is to protect tradition as tradition, as well as to create new forms within tradition.

ⒸBlue Boy