Kim Soo Hyun

Soundtrack is music created to accompany and enhance visual media such as film, television, and video games. It includes original scores (instrumental or vocal music composed specifically for the picture) and, at times, curated compilations of pre-existing songs. Stylistically, soundtrack is a meta-genre that can encompass orchestral symphonic writing, jazz, electronic and synth-driven textures, choral forces, popular song, and experimental sound design. Its defining trait is functional storytelling: themes, motifs, harmony, rhythm, and timbre are shaped by narrative needs, character psychology, pacing, and editing. Common features include leitmotifs for characters or ideas, modular cues that can be edited to picture, dynamic orchestration for dramatic range, and production approaches that sit well under dialogue and sound effects. Because it must synchronize to picture, soundtrack often uses clear dramatic arcs, tempo maps, and hit points.

Pansori is a Korean epic narrative singing tradition performed by a single vocalist (sorikkun) and a barrel drummer (gosu) who accompanies on the buk and shouts improvised interjections (chuimsae). The singer narrates, acts, and sings a long story—combining lyrical arias (sori), spoken narration (aniri), and expressive gestures and mime (ballim)—to portray multiple characters alone on stage. Musically, pansori employs modal systems (jo) such as pyeongjo, ujo, and gyemyeonjo, and cycles of rhythm (jangdan) like jinyangjo (very slow), jungmori, jungjungmori, jajinmori (fast), hwimori (very fast), and eotmori (asymmetrical/5-beat). The vocal style favors powerful projection, intricate ornamentation, flexible timing, and dramatic timbral color, often cultivated through rigorous traditional training. Canonized works (madang) such as Chunhyangga, Simcheongga, Heungbuga, Sugungga, and Jeokbyeokga represent the core repertoire. Pansori is widely recognized as a hallmark of Korean performing arts and has been inscribed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.