From Archetype to Model: Pansori and Intangible Cultural Heritage System Change

Pansori (a Korean genre of musical storytelling) has been protected within the framework of the Act on Safeguarding Cultural Heritage ("the Act"). The imaginary archetype and the principle of maintaining the archetype under the Act posed many conflicts and problems, but the near-extinct Pansori has apparently been able to retain its traditional form up to the present day because it was listed as an intangible heritage within the Act. However, given the changing system of and environment surrounding intangible cultural heritage, there is a pressing need to define the new direction for Pansori. Maintenance of the archetype that has distorted the true implication of the heritage and preservation of Pansori should be changed: Pansori should be inherited and preserved in a totally different direction by changing the archetype concept to a model concept and by adapting to the changing global environment. Embraced by the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, conditions such as the coexistence of traditionality and modernity, representation, and community features require the establishment of intangible cultural heritage that is open to the world, rather than closed. This requirement is imperative.Pansori needs to be re-contextualized in the intangible cultural heritage system wherein the archetype is transformed to a model. With attention focused on its entertainment features, Pansori should acquire characteristics of festivity or play, shedding its hereto-embraced artistry that anyone can access through ordinary life. If Pansori has previously evolved from festivity and play into an artform, it should now reverse its development direction from art to play and festivity.