SEOUL, March 7 (Yonhap) -- French-Cameroonian pansori performer Mapo Laure said she hopes to be recognized not as a “foreigner good at pansori,” but as a true traditional Korean singer.

Laure, 42, will perform a full rendition of “Heungboga” at the National Gugak Center on May 10. She said she sees herself as a pioneer because few foreigners have reached a professional level in the Korean traditional vocal art.

Born in Cameroon and raised in France, Laure first encountered pansori in 2015 while working at Samsung Electronics’ Paris office. After watching a performance by master singer Min Hye-sung at the Korean Cultural Center in France, she moved to Korea in 2017 to study under her.

She later entered the Korea National University of Arts and is currently pursuing a master’s degree. Her upcoming four-hour performance of “Heungboga” marks the first known full-length rendition of the work by a foreign performer.

Laure said the story’s message that “goodness is rewarded” deeply resonates with her own life as a diaspora who received support from many people while pursuing her dream in Korea.

She added that pansori carries a healing power and hoped her performance would show that the art form is not merely a preserved tradition, but “a living art of today.”

jwc@yna.co.kr

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