The Tale of Chunhyang: Korea's Most Famous Love Story, Its Plot and the Pansori Behind It

Chunhyangjeon, or The Tale of Chunhyang, is one of the best-known love stories and folk tales of Korea: the story of Chunhyang, the daughter of a former gisaeng, and Yi Mongryong, the son of a local magistrate, who marry in secret, are separated, and are reunited after she refuses to give in to a corrupt new official. It grew out of the pansori song Chunhyangga, the most famous of the five pansori stories still performed today.

Who wrote it?

No one knows. Like most classic Korean tales, its author and exact date are unknown; its present form took shape between the late seventeenth and early nineteenth centuries. Korean scholars think several older folk stories, including tales about secret royal inspectors and officials who seized commoners' daughters, merged into the pansori Chunhyangga, whose words were then written down as novels. As a result there are many versions; two of the best known are the Gyeongpan (Seoul woodblock) edition and the longer Wanpan (Jeonju) edition.

The main characters

Seong Chunhyang, whose name means "spring fragrance", is the daughter of Wolmae, a former gisaeng. She is beautiful and skilled in poetry and the arts. Yi Mongryong is the clever, handsome son of the magistrate of Namwon. Hyangdan is Chunhyang's devoted maid, and Bangja is Mongryong's cheeky male servant. Byeon Hakdo is the greedy official who replaces Mongryong's father.

The story in brief

One spring day, Yi Mongryong goes out to escape his studies and sees Chunhyang riding a swing. He falls in love at first sight. He sends Bangja to call her, but she refuses to come. He then asks her mother, Wolmae, for permission to marry her; Wolmae agrees, and the two young people marry that same day.

Soon Mongryong's father is posted to Hanyang (today's Seoul), and Mongryong must go with him. Chunhyang gives him a ring as a token of her love and promises to wait faithfully. The new magistrate, Byeon Hakdo, is a corrupt man who orders Chunhyang to serve him. When she refuses, saying she is already married, he has her beaten and thrown into prison.

Meanwhile, Mongryong wins first place in the state examination and becomes an amhaeng-eosa, a secret royal inspector sent by the king to catch corrupt officials. Disguised as a beggar, he returns to Namwon and learns what has happened. At Byeon's lavish birthday feast, he recites a satirical poem about the official's greed, then reveals his true identity and punishes him. Even then he tests Chunhyang, asking her to serve him; still not recognising him, she refuses. Deeply moved, he reveals himself, and the two are finally reunited.

Why Koreans love it

The story mixes romance, comedy and justice. Ordinary listeners could enjoy seeing love overcome differences in social status and a greedy lord brought down by a hero. The secret inspector's dramatic arrival at the feast, announced with the cry "amhaeng-eosa chuldu!", is one of the most famous scenes in Korean storytelling. Chunhyang's faithfulness also reflected traditional moral ideals of the time.

Pansori: the story as music

Pansori is a Korean form of musical storytelling performed by one singer and a drummer, the gosu, who plays a barrel drum called the buk. A full performance can last several hours. Of the twelve original pansori stories, only five are still performed, and Chunhyangga is one of them. In 2003 UNESCO proclaimed pansori a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Learn with Chunhyang: Korean words

Korean	Meaning	Example
첫눈에 반하다 (cheonnune banhada)	to fall in love at first sight	그는 그녀에게 첫눈에 반했다.
암행어사 (amhaeng-eosa)	secret royal inspector	암행어사가 나타났다!
기다리다 (gidarida)	to wait	춘향은 몽룡을 기다렸다.
약속을 지키다	to keep a promise	그녀는 약속을 지켰다.
그네 (geune)	a swing	춘향이 그네를 탔다.

Try this: Write three simple Korean sentences about someone you waited for, using 기다리다 and 약속을 지키다.