Ahn Sook Sun (安淑善, 안숙선, born September 5, 1949) is a Pansori singer and a Living National Treasure in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

She is currently regarded as a famous pansori singer with both skill and popularity among pansori masterpieces, and is known as "Eternal Chunhyang (''영원한 춘향'')", "The Best Sounder of Our Times" and "Primadonna of the

Gugak Korea refers to music from the Korean peninsula ranging from prehistoric times to the division of Korea into South and North in 1945. It includes court music, folk music, poetic songs, and religious music used in shamanistic and Buddhist traditi ...

world" and is a musician who is gaining worldwide fame. She was invited to perform at the 2018 K-music Festival in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Biography

Ahn was born in Namwon in 1949, which is the home of pansori '' Heungbuga'', '' Chunhyangga'' and "Eastern style" of pansori(known as dongpyeonje). At nine, she was introduced to pansori by her aunt kang soon young, who helped start learn pansori from Joo kwang-duk. During her teens, she learned the songs of the classic five madangs. After arriving in Seoul in her 20s, she learned more skills from Kim so hee and joined the national

Changgeuk ''Changgeuk'' or ''ch'angguk'' is a traditional Korean opera, performed as a play but in the Korean folk song style known as ''pansori''. It is therefore also called ''Korean pansori opera'' in English. Generally, a ''changgeuk'' play will include ...

production team at age 31. She was awarded officier of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

in 1998 with praise. She also performed at the avignon festival in 1998

References

20th-century South Korean women singers South Korean Buddhists 1949 births Living people People from Namwon 21st-century South Korean women singers {{SouthKorea-musician-stub