Eighteen-year-old pianist Lim Yun-chan is all the rage these days. This piano prodigy has not only become the youngest winner of the Van Cliburn Piano Competition but also the power to move people to tears with his music. After winning the prestigious award, he said that nothing has changed, and he only wants to keep on playing the piano for the rest of his life. That is an unlikely comment from an 18-year-old but sounds more like an old man who has gained enlightenment. There is a book that Yun-chan almost memorized and that is Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” A lot of people probably heard about this book, but I bet not many have actually read it. This epic poem was written when Dante was in exile in the early 1300s. It took him 14 years to complete the narrative poem composed of three parts – Hell, purgatory and paradise. Sculptor Auguste Rodin’s world-famous work “The Thinker” was part of his design for the Gates of Hell. But what if this timeless classic was rendered into a pansori piece? Let’s listen to the pansori version of The Gates of Hell from Dante’s “Divine Comedy” sung by Jeong Eun-hye.

The Gates of Hell/ Sung by Jeong Eun-hye

Pansori singer Jeong Eun-hye devoted many years to reinterpret Dante’s work and write pansori pieces inspired by it. It may seem awkward to express a medieval Italian literary work into a Korean traditional music piece. But it was an effort to make Dante’s masterpiece more widely read in Korea. The Italian writer wrote the “Divine Comedy” in the Tuscan language when Latin was the universal language for the city states that comprised the country that we know today as Italy. His intention was to allow many more people to read his work more easily. So Jeong Eun-hye’s pansori version is in line with Dante’s intention. Next up is duo Haepaary해파리 singing “Born by Irreproachable Gorgeousness.” Haepaary is comprised of Hye-won혜원, a producer who majored in percussion music, and Min-hee민희, a jeongga정가 singer. The first project these two magicians worked on together was reinterpreting Jongmyo ceremonial music, Korea’s intangible cultural asset and UNESCO’s intangible heritage for humanity. The Jongmyo ceremony was the most important national rite of the Joseon Dynasty. The songs, instrumental pieces, and dances performed during this ceremony are known to be simple yet majestic and dignified. Let’s listen to how the female duo managed to combine techno music elements and Joseon’s ceremonial music.

Born by Irreproachable Gorgeousness/ Sung by Haepaary

Today’s last song is “Ganggangsullae강강술래” by sEODo BAND서도밴드. People mistakenly think that this band has something to do with seodo folksongs, or folksongs from the western region of Hwanghae-do and Pyongan-do Provinces. But Seodo is the stage name of the band’s vocalist. The “Do” from his name comes from King Sejong’s actual name, Yi Do이도. The vocalist took the name because he wanted his music to enrich people’s lives just as King Sejong created hangeul to improve people’s lives. The music promoted by sEODo BAND is “Joseon pop.” If you wonder what Joseon pop is, listen to their music and decide for yourself. But sEODo BAND claims that Joseon pop refers to the music that blends Korean traditional musical elements with those of pop music. The band’s vocalist Seodo studied pansori when young, but his music background does not factor into his current band music. Also, the band doesn’t contain any gugak instrument. Nonetheless, people say the band’s songs feel very Korean. Let’s listen to the upcoming song to figure out for ourselves what that “Korean feel” is. Here’s sEODo BAND singing “Ganggangsullae.”

Ganggangsullae/ Sung by sEODo BAND