Download Modernization, the pivotal turning point of Korean theatre History

Modernization, the pivotal turning point of Korean theatre History
Meewon Lee (Korean National University of Arts)
1. The Process of Korean Theatre Modernization
The modernization of Korean theatre began at the turn of the 20th century
with the reception and incorporation of Western realistic theatre. The reformation
of Korean theatre started amidst the larger social reformation. The reception of
western culture and modernization were controversial in Korea at that time. The
society understood the advantages of westernization, but felt threatened by the
loss of tradition and imperialism. Korea was colonized by Japan in 1910, which
accelerated modernization despite strong resistances. Western culture and
science were encouraged by Japanese governor-general; so-called scientific
reformations of traditional custom were imposed in order to oppress Korean
traditions and new literarily forms came into being. Theatre was not an exception.
Traditional performances such as mask-dance theatres and shaman performances
were oppressed, and new western style entertainments were encouraged. Since
the modernization of Korean theatre underwent with colonization, it had some
distortions; it could never discuss independence, imperialism, and total freedom.
The modernization was mainly limited to scientific reformations and efficient
western social systems. In other words, the modernization was achieved not in its
spirit but only in techniques.
1) The Western style indoor theatre
The first Western style indoor theatre called Heopyeulsa (協律社)i opened in
1902 at the royal court as the official royal theatre. Korean diplomats who had
been in western countries suggested building of western style theatre to
entertain and foster interaction among foreign diplomatic envoys. Thus, the first
indoor theatre came into being at the outskirts of royal palaces.
However,
Heopyeulsa’s official opening ceremony never took place due to national
difficulties such as severe drought, a serious illness of King’s son, and poor
harvest. Since there was no the official opening, Heopyeulsa did not receive any
royal subsidy.
Meanwhile traditional performances including P’ansori and
traditional dances were performed, and a new genre called Changguk was
developed at Heopyeulsa.
Changguk is a role-divided P’ansori, where each actor
plays a role with a main narrator. Compared to P’ansori, where a single narrator
presents the whole story, Changguk shows western theatrical influences for its
dividing roles.
After Heopyeulsa closed in 1906 due to its offenses against public morals,
the first private theatre Wongaksa (圓覺社) opened at the same place in 1908.
Lee Injik (李人稙: 1862-1916) ii , a major supporter of the theatre, was a high
official at the court and studied in Japan at the turn of the century. With his
influence and interest, he rented the first indoor theatre, which was unused, and
opened it with a new name, Wongaksa.
This opening ceremony initiated the
modernization of Korean theatre. He tried a new theatre with his western style
play of “The Silver World(銀世界: 1908),”which was based on a corrupted local
governor at that timeiii.
Along with the accusation against the governor, Lee Injik
included new ideas of modernization regarding social progressivism. It is
interesting to know that he borrowed the title of The Silver World from Japanese
Sinpa theatre(新派劇). However, since there were no Korean actors trained in the
new style, the acting style remained similar to that of P’ansori. Thus, the
production showed many characteristics of the transitional theatre between the
traditional and the western.
2) The New Sinpa theatre of the 1910s
The New Sinpa theatre(新派劇) flourished in the 1910s while traditional
performances were rapidly decreased. Compulsory modernization by Japanese
imperial government affected all aspects of society, and theatre was not an
exception. Ihm Sunggu (林聖九)(1887-1921) opened a new era of Sinpa theatre(新
派劇) in the 1910s. He made the Theatre Group “Renovation (Hyuksindan: 革新團)”
and produced a play titled Undutiful must be Punished (不孝天罰) in 1911
according to the new Japanese Sinpa theatre, which was the first imitation of
Western theatre. However, the content itself emphasized the filial duty, which is
very traditional.
Korean Sinpa Theatre was an imitation of Japanese Sinpa of that
time, but a little different from it because Korea did not have Japanese traditional
theatre such as kabuki.
iv
Therefore, the style such as pronunciation and
movement was different from Japanese Sinpa even though it tried to imitate it.
But many repertories of Japanese Sinpa were adapted into Korean Sinpa.
Undutiful must be Punished was not an exception; it adapted Japanese
Obsessiveness of the Snake (蛇之執念). This new Sinpa was not successful; it was
closed after only one night due to the lack of audience. However, subsequent
performances such as A Robber with a six-chambered Revolver were very
successful after Ihm Sunggu advertised its performances on newspapers. A
Robber with a six-chambered Revolver, also an adaptation of Japanese Pistol
Robber Shimizu Sadakichi (凊水定吉) is a story of a policeman who risks his life to
arrest a robber with a revolver in order to keep social orders despite being fatally
shot. Ihm Sunggu was so popular that he wore silk clothes even when he played
the role of bagger. From this, we can tell his production was based on the star
system and not fully realistic. Although he was not a theatre major or studied
abroad, he gained more popularity than anybody else. His tendency to appeal to
the emotion seemed was in line with Sinpa theatre. In addition to Ihm Sunggu,
Yoon Paeknam (尹白南:1888-1954) and Lee Gisae (李基世: 1890?-1930?) were the
representative directors of Sinpa theatre. They both studied theatre in Japanese
Universities and knew Japanese Sinpa better than Ihm Sunggu, but their efforts to
be close to Japanese Sinpa made them unpopular. In the face of Japanese
imperialism, Sinpa theatre similar to Japanese Kabugi style made the Korean
public audience uncomfortable.
Although Sinpa theatre’s style was totally
different from the traditional ones, its repertories often borrowed the stories from
traditional novels. In other words, Sinpa theatre tried to adjust to Korean culture
and audience.
Although Sinpa theatre failed to become the modern realistic
theatre, it popularized the concept of ‘language-theatre’ in contrast to the
traditional performances.
3) The students’ groups and ‘Towolhoe’ of the 1920s
After the Samil Independence Revolution in 1919, where not only Korean
intelligentsia but also the general Korean public protested against Japanese
imperialism, Japanese governor-general switched policies from oppression to
appeasement. Newspapers such as Donga and Chosun came into being and
many other journals were allowed to be published. This cultural atmosphere
allowed students to give “enlightenment lectures” to the public. Along with these
lectures, many new theatres and new music were performed. Realistic renovation
of theatre came along with these students’ productions.
More realistic productions came into being by university students in the
1920s. The Association of Theatre Arts (Keugyesul Hyophoe: 劇藝術協會 19201923), the Association of Earth and Moon (Towolhoe: 土月會 1923-1932) and
many other students’ groups produced modern Western plays as well as their
original realistic works. The students’ groups performed mainly to enlighten the
public during summer vacations. Their performances often included lectures,
western music and songs, and theatrical events. Thus, mainly realistic one-act
western plays such as Chekhov’s The Bear, Lord Dunsany’s The Glittering Gate,
and Bernard Shaw’s How He Lied to Her Husband were produced. While
representative playwrights of realism were chosen, their representative plays were
not performed since the groups were amateurs and lacked the capability to
produce full length plays. They also produced their original plays such as The
death of Kim Youngil (Kim Younil-ue Sa), which portrayed the milieu of working
students in a realistic manner and introduced various western modern
philosophies
such
Nietzscheanism.
as
Christian
humanism,
communism,
dandyism,
and
All these productions were pioneers of the realistic theatre;
actors tried not to exaggerate their speeches and acting, realistic backdrops were
provided, first women actress such as Lee Wolhwa(1904(?)-1933) and Bok
Hesuk(1904-1982) stood on stage, and the main taboo or issues of the society
such as sexuality and the early marriage custom were described in their original
plays. Although their members were amateur, these students’ groups firmly
established the foundation for realistic theatre. The members were elites of the
time and had full knowledge of Western realistic theatre. In fact, their theatre
movements could be compared to the independent theatre movements in Europe.
Kim Wujin (金祐鎭:1897-1926) and Park
SeungHee(朴勝喜:1901-1964) were the
representative leaders, and were sons of aristocrat unlike the traditional actors
who were from the lower or outcast class.
As the status of theatre people rose,
so did the role of theatre in Korean society. Theatre was no longer a mere
entertainment but became a medium for social reforms. Influenced by Romain
Rolland’s people’s theatre, they tried to enlighten the public. The modernization
of the Korean theatre by the reception of western realism was nearly complete.
The plays of Kim Wujin and Park SeungHee were realistic and their new
productions heavily incorporated Western realism and were proficient in the
realistic style.
Among these students groups, the Association of Earth and Mood
became a leading professional theatre company of the 1920s.
The first academy for actors also came into being in 1920 by Hyun Chul (玄
哲: 1891∼1965), who was attending the theatre school in Japan. He made use of
his student experience, and ran the academy for about a year. Hyun Chul
attempted the second academy for actors in 1925. Although it also lasted only a
year, it produced famous actresses such as Bok Hesuk(1904-1982). These schools
aimed to teach theories and practices for actors and actresses. They founded the
educational ground for acting and theatre. Hyun Chul also wrote many
introductions about modern western theatre, and introduced many western
realistic theories and directors. Therefore, the groundwork for the western realistic
theatre was set up in the 1920s.
4) The Achievement of Realistic theatre by ‘Theatre Arts Studies (Keugyeul
Yeonguhoe)’ in the 1930s
Hong Haesong(洪海星:1893-1957), after studying and working at the Tsukiji
Little Theatre(築地小劇場) in Japan, organized a company called Theatre Arts
Studies (Keugyeul Yeonguhoe: 劇藝術硏究會) in 1931, which led the 1930s
theatrical innovations. The company introduced many Western realistic plays and
original Korean realistic plays with realistic productions. Since the company had
membership system like most independent theatres in Europe, it could avoid the
financial bankruptcy and could last throughout the 1930s. It is said that this
company finally achieved the full functions of western independent theatre.
Theatre Arts Studies’ works were divided into three periods: the period of western
realistic plays, the period of original realistic plays and the final period of warpropaganda plays from the pressures by the Japanese governor-general. Since the
third period was totally controlled by the Japanese governor-general due to the
Second World War, only the works of the first two periods are important and will
be discussed.
The first period of the company was led by Hong Haesong. He made the
best of his experience at the Tsukiji Little Theatre (築地小劇場) and produced
repertories similar to the Tsukiji Little Theatre. Thus, many western realistic plays
were introduced through Japanese interpretation. But unlike the 1920s when
scripts were translated from Japanese, most scripts of the 1930s were directly
translated from their original languages. Starting with Gogol’s Inspector, plays of
Lady Gregory, Chekhov, Shaw, Ibsen and others were produced.
25 plays
including The Cherry Orchard, Arms and the Man, and the Power of Darkness
were performed. Three dimensional settings were fully accomplished in their
productions, and there were no more male-actresses in contrast to the 1920s.
Yoo
Chijin (柳致眞:1905-1974)
resignation,
and
emphasized
took
production
over the
of
company after Hong’s
original
realistic
plays.
An
accomplished playwright himself, Yoo Chijin discovered many representative
playwrights of Korean modern theatre such as Lee Kwangrae (李光來:1908-1968),
Kim Jinsoo (金鎭壽:1909-1966), and Ham Seduk (咸世德:1915-1950). With works
of these playwrights, Korean modern realistic theatre became truly established.
Their works created realistic milieu of the time with everyday language and raised
awareness of social issues. All these writers solidified the realism and the status of
western-style playwrights. These writers fortified the foundation of western
playwriting, and led the theatrical world after the independence. In other words,
Theatre Arts Studies Group played the most important role for establishment of
realistic theatre and for encouraging the western style Korean playwrights.
5) Commercial Theatres in the 1930s and War Time Propaganda Theatre in
the 1940s
Commercial theatres also flourished in the 1930s. Succeeding the Sinpa
theatre’s commercial success, the Oriental Theatre (Dongyang Keukjang: 東洋劇場)
was opened in 1935. The Oriental Theatre was the first professional theatre for
drama with a revolving stage and 600 seats. Bae Guja (裵龜子:1905-2003), the
founder of the Oriental Theatre, was a well-known performer and adopted
daughter of Japanese high official. Her husband, Hong Soonyon (洪淳彦:1905(?)-
1937), was the manager of the theatre and dramatically improved the treatments
of people working in theatre. The Oriental Theatre was the first company to give
salaries to its actors, directors and writers. Thus, many qualified and competent
theatre people moved to this commercial theatre including Hong Haesong, the
first leader of Theatre Arts Studies Company, and heightened the quality of
commercial theatre. The Oriental Theatre strengthened the basis of commercial
theatre. It popularized western theatre among the public, and consequently
contributed to the spread of modern realistic theatre. It also demonstrated that
theater can be profitable as entertainment industry and actors could live on
salary.
Furthermore, it discovered many new actor, actresses, and directors, who
then became founder of theatre and movie industry after independence of Korea.
In short, the Oriental Theatre was the symbol of theatre industry that provided
people working in theatre financial stability.
Because the Japanese as well as the colonized Koreans were under wartime
in the first half of the 1940s, all cultural activities were controlled by Japanese
governor-general. All Korean theatre companies were allowed only to produce socalled “People’s Theatre” that heightened the war spirit and spread the
propaganda of Japanese government. Thus, modernization of Korean theatre
regressed in this period, and instead many full length propaganda plays came
into being under the strict censorship of Japanese governor-general. Japanese
governor-general had three official theatre competitions in 1942, 1943, and 1945,
in order to promote War Spirit. It is a pity for dawning modern Korean theatre to
be used in promoting Japanese invasions, but much full length plays were
produced under the necessity of war-propaganda. Owing to this purpose, theatre
companies continued to exist and later played a role as a bridge between
colonial theatre and post-independence theatre.
2. The Effect of Theatre Modernization
After the modernization of Korean theatre, the western realistic theatre is still
the main stream of contemporary Korean theatre. Contrast to the traditional
theatre, the modernized theatre emphasizes causality of plot, uses everyday
language and written scripts. Theatre often raises social issues rather than being
entertainments. The status of actors is also raised. In short, it is the modernization
that totally changed the codes and conventions of Korean theatre, i.e., organizing
stories, acting style, the hierarchy of theatrical elements, the discourse of
thoughts and the attitude of attending performances. The comparison between
Korean traditional theatre and Korean modern realistic theatre as follows:
• Episodic
Lineal
• Improvisation
Causality
• Songs, Dances
Everyday Language
• Stylized acting
Realistic acting
• Performativity
Representation
• Entertainment
Social Issues
• Audience attending Audience watching
• <The hierarchy of theatrical elements>
• Spectacle
plot
• Ritual & Festivity
Life-likeness
• Multiformity
Single and unity
In addition, true globalization of Korean theatre started from this
modernization. The realistic modernization means globalization in the 20th
century. The western canons of Shakespeare, Moliere, Ibsen and other many
playwrights are known to Korea.
However, the globalization of post modernism in the 21th century takes
advantages of traditional theatres. The comparison between the traditional
theatre and the postmodern theatre as follows:
•
• Episodic
Multi-lineal or No story
• Improvisation
Coincidence, Happening
• Songs, Dances
Sound & visual Effects
• Stylized acting
Non-realistic acting
. Episodic, Multiformity
Convergence ,Divergence, Fusion
Multiformity
•
Ritual & Festivity
Performativity
• Audience attending
Audience Invited
• Indigenous
Multi-cultural
The globalization nowadays raises another question; could traditional theatres
revive again in contemporary theatre? Many non-western traditions are mixed
in postmodern theatre nowadays. For example, the western canons are played
with Korean traditional heritages by Korean directors; JongWong Yang’s
Midsummer Night’s Dream and Taeseok O’s Tempest were very well received
even in England. Then, some questions are left; is modernization the pivotal
between traditional theatres and postmodern theatres? Could traditional
theatres become (or revive in ) postmodern theatres? In other words,
traditional theatres could be hopefully united with postmodern theatres as
present
alive
forms?
The
endless
revivals
of
traditional
theatres
in
performances of today are even suggestive of the future theatre which
combined modern theatres and traditional theatres.
ii
Sa (社) means a company or an organization. Though there were temporary stages or modified
indoor stages as a part of building, there was no indoor permanent theatre before Heopyeulsa.
ii
He is the pioneer in modernization of Korean theatre, but was the secretary of Lee Yonyoung,
who played a major role in signing of the treaty of Japanese annexation of Korea. Plus, The
Silver World was the only theatrical production. Thus, his role in Korean theatrical
modernization was often depreciated.
iii
The novel, The Silver World, was published almost at the same time as its performance.
It is
western style in the following aspects; it tries to keep the causality of plot, to pick up the issues of
society, and employs everyday language.
Since the story promoted pro-Japanese attitudes, its
insistence for modern reforms is devalued nowadays.
iv
Suh Yon-Ho’s The History of Korean Theatre (韓国演劇全史), recently translated into Japanese, calls Korean
shinpa “shinpa-cho theatre”(新派調劇) rather than “Shinpa theatre” (新派劇) which is commonly called in
Korea.