Pansori is the Korean traditional music genre that tells long stories through a singer and a drummer.
A pansori performance traditionally features one vocalist, called a sorikkun, and one drummer, called a gosu. The singer alternates among narrative speech, song, and expressive gestures, while the drummer provides rhythmic accompaniment and verbal encouragement. A complete story can take many hours to perform.
The repertory includes famous narrative works such as Chunhyangga, Simcheongga, Heungbuga, Jeokbyeokga, and Sugungga. These stories combine romance, family duty, sacrifice, humor, loyalty, and social observation.
Pansori is not a Chuseok-specific ritual, but it may appear in cultural programming during the holiday. It is also distinct from samul nori, an instrumental percussion ensemble tradition, and talchum, a masked dance-drama form. In 2003, UNESCO proclaimed pansori a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.