Time to Face the Music

 

The heart wrenching tale of Sopyonje revolves around inner struggle with post-traumatic grief, which is reflective of the Korean nation's grief at this time. The climax of the movie is the final reunion scene between Dongho and Songhwa in which they free themselves from their grief through the art of Pansori. As Julian Stringer remarks in his article, in this climactic scene, “at the very moment the central characters are most connected to each other, at the very moment they express their familial bonds most passionately through song [...] Sopyonje gives its audience mood music” (164). In this scene, although the music is no longer Pansori but mood music, the audience witness Dongho and Songhwa's liberation as many close ups of their faces, wet with tears, make up this scene. In this climactic scene the director consciously eliminates the Pansori's music in order to draw the viewers focus away from the symbolic meaning of Pansori, in the national context, and focus on the individual healing expressed by both siblings. By doing this the director takes the attention away from the national experience of grief for a moment to state the importance of family and self healing.  

 

 Although the lack of Pansori music in this scene creates a powerful and intense mood it also provokes many questions. Are the close ups of the characters' teary faces, coupled with the non-diegetic music, the director's way of stating that Pansori is solely an art of grief, not one of healing? Is the fact that Pansori is lacking in audible representation yet present in spirit, during the most crucial moment of emotion in the film also indicative of it's sole existence in grief? After this climactic scene of emotional healing between the two siblings Songhwa cannot outwardly come to terms with the experience and fully heal, is this caused by her fear of losing her Pansori abilities? Seeing as Pansori and grief are important symbols of the Korean nation throughout the film, what does Songhwa's refusal or incapacity to heal say about the condition of the nation? Is the nation unable to make the move away from it's position as victim of the passed colonial powers?

Source Cited:

Julian Stringer, "Sopyonje and the Inner Domain of National Culture,” Im Kwon-Taek: The Making of a Korean National Cinema. Eds. David E. James and Kyung Hyun Kim. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2002. 157-181.

Seopyeonje

The film, Seopyeonje (1993) was filmed by Im KwonTaek, which telss the story of a family of traditional Korean Pansori singers trying to make their life into the modern world. There were many long shots scenes when Yubong, Songhwa, and Dongho walking, and shows the landscapes of the mountains, rivers and fields. ‘The use of the long-take emphasize that the song is being preserved s it happens, in real time’ (pg. 177). They are singing while they are walking down the field, and the lyrics of the song include their hopes, dreams and visions.

            Yubong’s obsession with the sounds and his daughter led him to make Songhwa blind. Dongho thought the death of his mom was due to Yubong, and he decided to leave. However, Yubong was worried about that Songhwa would leave him like Dongho, so Yubong made Songhwa blind. However, this creates han (resentment) to Songhwa. ‘pansori is being advanced by ImKwonTaek as representative of the authenticity and emotionalism of the national culture is evidenced by the visual and aural symbolisms of other scenes as well’ (pg. 167). Some Koreans consider the fim, Sopyeonje as the Korean traditional film, because it includes ‘han’ (resentment), which is a Korean traditional sentiment. ‘While the use of music in Sopyonje has stimulated many Koreans to feel and preserve the inner domain of a shared national culture, the film reproduces some of the same contradictions that plagued the minjung movement itself (pg. 171). At the end of the film, the scene when Songhwa recognized Dongho by hearing his rhythms of the drumming and singing together, after few years later was the most impressive scene for me. The camera shows Songhwa and Dongho’s face to shows the emotions to the audiences, and the sounds were muted. Showing their emotions without any speech was the most impressive scene, which portrays Songhwa and Dongho’s han (resentment) the most.

            

I will always be a "foreigner"

     I first became interested in Korean culture because of bboying, a sub-culture born in New York which has nothing to do with this movie but I needed something to open up my post with. After the first few months of investigating Korea on Wikipedia and Google, I knew all about Samsung, K-pop and kimchi. The reason being, these things are at the fore front of Korea's cultural representation on the global scale, these are the "cultural traits" that we foreigners (speaking for the foreigners in the class, representin')  become accustomed with at first when it comes to Korea. More recently, add Psy to the list.

     Needless to say, I went a little further than the average westerner and actually studied the culture and language of Korea, culminating in two seperate trips to South Korea. After that, I knew a little more about Korean lifestyle, the history and current social issues. Granted I am no specialist of Korean culture, it permitted me to delve deeper in the country's background and I got to meet a whole bunch of people.

     All this to say that I did not know what pansori was until I saw this movie. I discovered an entire new style of singing/music altogether, I mean, for me, now, I think pansori is very unique to Korean culture. After reading a previous post by a Korean student, I realize how much pansori relates to the Korean identity in a way that I will never truly understand. So it got me thinking about what CAN I, as a westerner, understand and take away from this realization. Well, for one, I can relate or translate it to my own cultural and historical background, this got me thinking about Quebec and my quebecois roots for a long while, even discussed with pops and mom about it, anyways (just so say what a movie like this can lead to) there are things that are specific to my peopolZ! only, things (like raconteur) that constitute my identity, my way of doing things and how I express myself just as pansori may reflect Korean culture and identity.

     This could be why 서편제 was such a domestic hit, I think when we watch or listen to things that remind us of who we are, a certain feeling of pride comes up. I wouldn't be surprised if Koreans watching this movie felt more "moved" than for example myself. I just know that I recently watched two movies made by quebecois directors in Quebec setting with quebecois actors and I loved the films, it just made me happy to watch them, and proud.
 
     It may be that we cannot fully understand a culture unless we are a part of it ourselves but we can sure as hell be aware of it, and I think this is why I liked this movie, because now I know more-  I know about pansori.

     On a totally different note, the film's representation of gender relation within a family got me wondering. Two kids, one guy and one girl with the father. The guy eventually leaves out of resentment for his father (as a male viewer I felt the same way) and the girl staying with the father (which enraged me). What was the director trying to say about power shifts in terms of gender? Why did the boy leave, why did the girl stay?

Landscapes in Sopyonje

What struck me most about Sopyonje is its beautiful representation of the Korean countryside. The film’s use of long shots immortalizes landscapes of mountains, rivers and fields and people are often situated to the side and appear small. This creates an image in which man, who appears small, helpless and insignificant in relation to the landscapes surrounding him, is no match for the grandeur of nature and Korea’s natural beauty. 

Nature, as represented by Im Kwon-Taek’s excessive use of long shots, symbolizes the Korean people’s yearning for the traditional in a time of post colonialism and the spread of American mass culture into small countryside villages. Chungmoo Choi, in “The Politics of Gender, Aestheticism, and Cultural Nationalism in Sopyonje and The Genealogy”, also mentions that Sopyonje’s representation of nature acts as one of the nostalgic devices the film uses in order to show everyday events from the recent past which serve to “confer validity on the sense of preindustrial community”, meaning that they offer a shared space for Koreans to collectively project their nostalgia towards the traditional precolonial Korea (115). The people’s han, or the unexpressed feelings of oppression and sorrow resulting from Korea’s colonial past, is also placed in this collective sphere of nostalgia that is partly formed by the Korean countryside landscape. In Sopyonje nature, therefore, has a paradoxical dual symbolic representation of an empowered being (where beauty holds power) that stands far above any insignificant human being (as positioned in specific frames of the film) and, also, of a hopeless and helpless being whose traditional roots (pansori and natural landscapes) are slowly disappearing and being replaced or filled by modern technology, music and industrialization. The first symbolic representation of nature instills in the viewer with some hope and pride for preserving traditional Korean cultural symbols; the second depiction of nature stirs up feelings of nostalgia for the precolonial Korea and the beauty and simplicity of its countryside. Im’s use of long shots to frame natural landscapes created for me a mixed feeling of hope and nostalgia which stood out from the sorrowful and devastating life led by Songhwa. 

[Sopyeonje] The juxtaposition between tradition and modernization

From the 1940s through the 1970's, Korea was in process of modernization, and it was strongly influenced by American popular culture. However, this intervention of American culture diminished the original Korean traditions. For instance, as shown in this film, Pansori was limited to be performed and further developed, for western music got fame during the time. Demonstrating this negative effect of modernization, director Im Kwon-Taek established a connection between tradition and modernization throughout Sopyeonje. The film basically represented  the struggle to preserve an essential Korean identity within the rushing modernity. In order to emphasize not only the beauty of Korea but also the pureness of simple traditional art,  Im frequently filmed an extreme long shot of the landscapes. While they were travelling through the countryside, Songhwa, Dongho and Youbong performed "Arirang" together for more than 5 minutes. Here, Im produced the strong sense of Korean culture through the most popular Korean traditional song "Arirang" with the quietude of the countryside.  Furthermore, "han" that indicates one’s deep sorrow was also represented through the combination of pansori. Youbong wanted Songhwa to overcome her own han and express it through her voice. However, making true sound did not seem to matter during the time.  Even when Songhwa finally mastered  her sound, their efforts were useless and pointless, since Korean traditional art was no longer the subject of people’s attention in modern society. Songhwa, therefore, had to live through a severe poverty-stricken life. This way, Im criticized, how Koraen traditions became to be pursued for the sake of food and money, not for the art itself.  Aside from presenting the loss to Korean culture, Im pointed out that it is ironic in the sense that modernized people did not actually have a modern liberal idea of equality. When Youbong had a conflict with those who came to listen to Songhwa's pansori, the men claimed that social classes will always exist, regardless of time and space. This represented that people still did not embrace the idea of equality between noblemen and peasants, even during the modern time.  Throughout this juxtaposition between the two worlds, Im expressed well the sorrow for the dying of Korean culture, and it played a very significant role in rescuing their tradition.

Story Within a Song

I saw the three people in the family portrayed as a whole nation. Yu Bong reminded me of former president Park Chung Hee, who tried so desperately to make Korea's identity different from the Western world. Yu Bong's attempt to make Song Hwa bring out the best sound portrays the obsession Park Chung hee also had, the cultural distinction and national identity Park chased. The disappearing and 'going out of style' pansori also depicts how Korean traditions never really got around in building the nation's new identity after the Korean war. This small family is an allegory of the nation trying to shape an identity during post-Korean war period.

As suggested in Julian Stringer's paper, Sopyonje and the Inner Domain of National Culture, the transition from diegetic sound and the non-diegetic sound during the reunion of Dong Ho and Song Hwa could be ambiguous to some audience. It is confusing to why we did not actually get to hear the climax where we clearly see a connection between Dong Ho and Song Hwa. However, I believe that the han that has been accumulated over the years is just too overwhelming and indescribable by words, songs, or even pansori. But it is obvious that Song Hwa finally overcomes her grief and now the 'mystery' in her sound is gone. At the same time, i think, she finally fully understand Yu Bong, why he blinded her on purpose, his love towards pansori, and what he meant by overcoming sorrow and han in order to have the perfect sound. What is han? What about han is it that makes it so touching to Koreans? Director Im suggested that han is not an 'unified entity' then why was Sopyonje such a hit? Even though today's Korean generation have not lived through the hardships in the past, they are still greatly influenced by the stories they grow up with and the mindset of the nation.

Throughout the film, there are two stories told within a story. SimChungJeon and ChunHyangJeon. Both are Korean's traditional fairytales or myths that have been told down the generation. I think it is safe to say that majority of Koreans are aware of these tragic stories. ChunHyangJeon is about a woman who was loyal to a man but he leaves her to pursue his career. ChunHyang, no matter how much she is suffering and the high governor woos her, she continues to wait for him. While this story deals with love fidelity, SimChungJeon deals with filial piety. Long story short, SimChung sacrifices herself for her blind father to open his eyes. It is ironic how in the film the father blinds the daughter, not the other way around. Director Im did a fantastic job suggesting different meanings of messages through narrating the story indirectly using pansori.

I believe this melodramatic film definitely deserved the awards it earned in different film festivals. Even though pansori is not the only part of Korea's tradition or the nation's identity, it is still worth it to make the world aware of our traditions.

Arirang

The extended long shot of the trio walking down the winded path along empty crop fields was the single most striking shot from the movie for me. It gave me shivers as I saw them walk down the path singing arirang.

 

Arirang is the representative of traditional Korean folk song. There is a many different versions depending on the region, but in general it depicts the han of the people. The particular arirang that the trio sings is a type of Jindo arirang, mainly sung in the Jeolla provinces. The specific meaning and the use of arirang is much debated even among Korean scholars, but I think this scene gives us a grasp of what arirang is to these people.

Yubong and Songhwa alternate their verses in a structure of 4-2-2-1-1-1-1 with the chorus of arirang in between. It starts off with slow, bitter, lamenting verses filled with their own experiences that they had as they walked down their various paths (and, therefore, the han that they accumulated). Then through each chorus, the song gets lighter and faster, especially when Dongho joins in with the drum at the second chorus.

They first sing about how miserable their lives are, drifting around in the world with so many worries in their hearts. Songhwa sings how weary it is to climb the Moongyeongsaejae (a path through the mountain range). Then they sing about their hopes in their lives, their reconciliation with their past (Yubong accepting his love’s death), and the boundless possibilities of their future.

This made me realize that perhaps this complex mixture of resentment(han), hope, desperation and aspiration in arirang and pansori is what threads through this movie and why domestic audience was so engrossed with the film. Perhaps this is why arirang is such a powerful representation of Korean psyche/culture.

(following is a version of translation of the arirang  from the movie)

Man does not live hundreds of years so let’s live this world with ease (Yubong)

Moonkyeongsaejae is such a climb. Its ups and downs make me cry (Songhwa)

What a life of a drifting singer. Allow me to resolve my sorrows. (Y)

Like the many stars in the fine sky, there are so many worries in my heart (S)

*Arirang

She’s gone. My dear love is gone with a flock of wild geese. (Y)

Oh wild goose, let me ask you please tell me where I should go. (S)

*repeat

My precious lovely daughter, learn to sing and become a master. (Y)

My brother, I will follow your drum beats on my life’s path of singing. (S)

*repeat

Let’s enjoy the night. Enjoy until the moon rises and falls. (Y)

*repeat

Are you hot or cold? Come into my arms. Place your head on my arms. (S)

*repeat

The sun setting in the west sky does not wish to do so. My love leaving me does not wish to do so. (Y)

*repeat

A boat in the boundless sea. Row on, row on your way. (Y,S)

*repeat