Participants at a pansori (traditional lyrical opera) workshop use traditional fans during the event at the Korean Cultural Center in Brussels, Belgium. The workshop ran from Aug. 21-26.

By Lee Dasom
Photos = Korean Cultural Center in Belgium

A workshop in Belgium has taught the locals there pansori (traditional lyrical opera).

The Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Brussels on Aug. 26 said that jointly with the National Gugak Center of Korea, it launched on Aug. 21 a pansori workshop that ran for a week. 

Attracting around 30 visitors, the seminar was taught by renowned pansori master Min Hye-sung, a disciple of the pansori story "Heungboga" and designated National Intangible Cultural Asset No. 5.

With interest in traditional Korean music gradually rising in Belgium along with K-pop and Korean dramas, the workshop this year was divided into two levels: beginner and intermediate.

"I discovered pansori last year and was mesmerized by it," one participant said. "I wanted to know the lyrics so I learned Hangeul to understand them, and now I can better convey emotion through sound."

At a recital held on the last day of the workshop, participants wore Hanbok (traditional clothes) and performed the minyo (folk songs) and pansori they learned.

"Until about a decade ago, the locals considered pansori exotic music from movies," Min said. "But now, I feel rewarded as many foreign nationals have grown interested in pansori and are becoming pansori singers."

Next month, the KCC will hold workshops for buchaechum (fan dance) and sogochum (small drum dance). 

Attendees at a pansori workshop hosted by the KCC in Brussels on Aug. 26 hold a recital to perform what they learned.