Art Theory of Pansori(판소리 예술론) is written by Byeong-Heon Jeong and was released in September of 2021 by the publishing company Taehaksa. Jeong received his Ph.D. from Seoul University and taught as a professor at Chonnam National University and Sookmyung Women's University. Other books he has written includ 'A Study of Shin Jaehyo's Pansori Editorial'(신재효 판소리 사설의 연구), 'Culture Theory of Pansori' (판소리 문학론),'Pansori and South Korea's Culture'(판소리와 한국 문화),'Pansori and People'(판소리와 사람들), and 'Lyrics by Shin Jae-Hyo'(신재효의 가사) which shows his extended knowledge of pansori.

In Art Theory of Pansori, Jeong uses five diverse chapters to explain his idea of pansori's art theory. Every chapter zooms in on a specific aspect of pansori. The first chapter reveals Jeong's general thoughts about the formation of pansori, in which he mostly focuses on how pansori was able to establish itself as a genre as it changed through human contact. In his second chapter, he explores Shin Jae-Hyo and Jeong Hyeon-Seok's writings on pansori, who are two important figures in pansori.

In chapter 3, the principle of laughing as a characteristic of pansori is brought to light. Jeong prefaces this chapter by saying his chapter needs further research, but he gives a very detailed overview of the parts in Jeokbyeokga that are supposed to make audiences laugh. In chapter 4, Jeong tries to find the reason why 7 of the 12 pansori works have disappeared. He specifically contests the idea that the noble class or the quality of the other pansori pieces are to blame for their disappearance. Finally, his last chapter addresses different arts that have derived from pansori. Pansori novels, changgeuk, and North Korean operas all started as pansori but their styles have changed as time went on.

As one might expect from reading the title, this book focuses on a lot of details that encompass the genre of pansori. Not only does it concentrate on very specific moments in each pansori epic story, but it also makes use of a lot of jargon that those unfamiliar with pansori might not immediately understand. It is thus advised to read this book with sufficient knowledge of the five pansori epic stories and at least a basic understanding of pansori theory.

I chose to read this book because of my interest in pansori and I thought a book on the theory of pansori might help me in my understanding of the genre. Even if the theory used in the book was sometimes difficult to follow, I enjoyed reading Art Theory of Pansori and feel like I have learned a lot. As the author discusses quite some issues that I had never considered while studying pansori, I was able to make a lot of notes.

Jeong manages to effectively address issues in pansori studies that I personally have not encountered as of yet, which enabled me to take an interest in many parts of the book. His engagement with Jeokbyeokga is especially interesting as I have not come across many studies of this epic and it is therefore also the epic I am least familiar with. I also very much enjoyed his theory on the creation of pansori, in which he insinuates that it is not Honam where pansori started, but it was Honam where other artists spread over the entire country came together to set a standard for pansori. As I have a passion for the divide between fusion-style pansori and standard pansori, I liked chapter 5 in particular. When Jeong presented different artforms that hold their origins in pansori, his ideas and theories on the conflict between relying on pansori or embracing a new art style that some new artforms go through were a pleasure to read and helped me gain new perspectives on fusion art.