Despite the great efforts taken by the South Korean government to preserve the once highly regarded folk art, p’ansori is quickly becoming less relevant in Korean daily life. Nevertheless, a band...Show moreDespite the great efforts taken by the South Korean government to preserve the once highly regarded folk art, p’ansori is quickly becoming less relevant in Korean daily life. Nevertheless, a band called LEENALCHI was able to score a hit in 2020 with their song “Tiger is Coming”. The song is based on a p’ansori epic and is sung in p’ansori style, but it contains a twist. LEENALCHI creates fusion music, which is music that combines Korean traditional music and contemporary music. With their ‘new’ version of p’ansori, LEENALCHI is gaining much popularity in Korea and they are now the face of both the Korean Tourism Organization as well as several brands. Their presence in the Korean entertainment industry thus ensures that p’ansori, which was facing extinction despite the support of the Korean government, has once again become part of lived Korean culture. This thesis tries to examine how LEENALCHI is able to repurpose p’ansori and consequently popularize a form of intangible cultural heritage that has been struggling to keep up in relevance. In doing so, this thesis establishes how intangible cultural heritage can be repurposed even when preservation seems to become increasingly complicated.Show less
