By Blair Helwig

Professor Chan Park from Ohio State University will be speaking and performing Thursday at an event about Korean traditions.

The Asia Center is hosting the lecture “Korean Oral Tradition Today: the Practice and Adaption of P’ansori Storytelling.”

In an e-mail to the Kernel,  Donna Kwon, UK assistant professor of ethnomusicology,  said Park’s lecture will focus on issues of vocal production and adapting her p’ansori art to the modern American context.

“She does a wonderful job of translating the stories to American audiences and expects it will be a lot of fun,” Kwon said.

P’ansori vocal production is unique because it uses a wide palette of timbres and techniques including cries, howls and whispers. The preferred timbre is husky and raspy, similar to a blues performer, Kwon said.

“The lecture is about a vocal method of storytelling, and Dr. Park works on adapting the stories to English and multicultural audiences of today,” Asia Center staff member Mike Hardy said.

“The lecture will show students what Americans tend to forget — to treasure and preserve the past and keep it with us as we create the future,” Hardy said.

The lecture will give students an insight into Korean vocal styles, how they function in a Korean lifestyle and how the traditions are passed down in the 21st century.

“P’ansori is a Korean vocal art that incorporates narration, singing and gestures as a one person show accompanied by one drummer,” Kwon said.

The performance will include Park, the vocalist, also playing her own drum, Kwon said.

“I would consider Dr. Chan Park the premier p’ansori performer in the United States, and she’s the only person I know who sings Korean but tells the story in English so the audiences can enjoy it,” Kwon said.

Kwon said she heard  Park would perform excerpts from “Song of the Underwater Palace,” in honor of the Asian New Year of the Rabbit in 2011.

Students can find more information about upcoming Asia Center events, including future lectures, on its website, http://www.uky.edu/Centers/Asia.

Korean Oral Tradition Today talk will be 4 p.m. Thursday at the Niles Gallery in the Lucille Little Library. It is free and open to the public.