Utilization and Significance of the Pansori Inserted Songs

This study assumed that the insertion of songs or inserted songs during the formative period of Pansori played a significant role in establishing Pansori as epic poetry. To verify this, the functions, operations, and transformations of the inserted songs were examined. First, it was identified that using inserted songs to replace narrative paragraphs or specific scenes was an efficient compositional method for epic poetry. Next, the use of inserted songs was examined. Focusing on the context of the songs before insertion and the narrative and performance levels of the songs after insertion, this study roughly categorized them into four types: 1) the songs continue naturally in context even after insertion; 2) the songs are appropriately connected to the character's discourse in the work after insertion, but is considered an intention of the inserting author-performer; 3) the enjoyment of the performance level of the songs is fully highlighted even after insertion; and 4) the songs are inserted into the narrator's discourse, internally playing a descriptive role in the work but externally arousing their own interest. Next, we examined two characteristic changes that occurred during the later years of the inserted songs. The most representative cases were when the communication of the performance layer was emphasized, and the song’s words were granted independence, or when the information delivery of the narrative layer was emphasized, and the narrative information in the work was largely inserted into the song’s words. In short, the insertion of songs or inserted songs during the formative period of Pansori is likely to have played an important mediating role in the recognition of the performance epic genre by the singer and the audience.