Transforming Indigenous Performance in Contemporary South Korean Theatre

338 Pages·2014·3.81 MB·English

Transforming Indigenous Performance in Contemporary South Korean Theatre:
The Case of Sohn JinCh’aek’s Madangnori

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy
in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By
ChuYoung Chon, MA
Graduate Program in Theatre

The Ohio State University
2014

Dissertation Committee:
Lesley Ferris, Advisor
Chan E. Park-Miller
Joy Reilly
Copyright by
ChuYoung Chon
2014
Abstract
Contemporary South Korean theatre of the twenty-first century has actively
embraced the reproduction of indigenous tradition. Productions marked with Korean
cultural codes are now a format for success among domestic and non-domestic audiences.
Today, the revivalist movement of Korean indigenous arts is widely recognized as a
pathway to the global market. The aim of this movement is to establish “Koreannesque
theatre,” that accurately represents Korean culture, as a competitor among other national
or ethnic theatres. Ultimately, this revitalization demonstrates an unceasing longing for
“national theatre,” or theatre that proudly represents Korean culture and sentiments to
others. Here, the adjectives “Korean” and “Koreannesque” take on a nationalistic
meaning that presupposes ethnically unique Korean features that broadly refer to the
indigenous or traditional customs and culture prior to the influence of Japanese
colonization and Western influence.
The objective of this study is to critically examine South Korean director Sohn
JinCh’aek’s creatively revived form of madangnori, an indigenous outdoor performance
marked by theatrical story-telling and musical-like quality. The study investigates how
Sohn contradicted contemporary society and artistic direction, and how he sought to
establish a new theatre genre unique and native to Korean ethnic identity. By examining
madangnori’s social and artistic relations with the representative theatrical work at that
time, I will locate its place within the domestic and international domains. At the same
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time, I will explore the uniqueness of this uncommon and unrecognized theatrical form,
which was ironically, made popular by a mainstream theatre director. This dissertation
also indexes the rich matrix of events which led to the creation of madangnori and to its
unusually long-term success; “Long-term” relative to other theatrical forms in South
Korean theatre. I will examine the somewhat unclear relationship between madangnori
and two stylistically similar genres, ch’anggŭk and madanggŭk. Ch’anggŭk is a
modernized adaptation of p’ansori which is performed as an opera. Madanggŭk is a
modernized adaptation of mask dance drama which shared great stylistic similarities with
Sohn’s earlier productions before madangnori settled down as a specific performance
genre after the 1990s. Ch’anggŭk and madanggŭk were created and promoted by
different political groups, yet madangnori partly share the stylistic and ideological
directions with them. I argue that Sohn’s work has more in common with these two
theatre genres more than with the two contemporary directors, Oh T’aeSŏk and Lee
YunT’aek, whose work also have been discussed under the “modernization of tradition.”
To varying degrees, madangnori, ch’anggŭk, and madanggŭk aimed to formulate a
“national” theatre and a “folk” theatre, an objective shared by Oh and Lee. While their
objectives and medium seem to overlap with Sohn, Oh and Lee chose vastly different
means for executing their aims. This study is an attempt to call attention, in both Korean
and international theatre scholarship, to the mapping of contemporary Korean theatre
through the lens of Sohn’s work, the madangnori.
Keywords: Korean theatre, re-invention of indigenous tradition, contemporisation,
modernization, nationalism
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Dedication

This document is dedicated to my parents, ChaeChung Chang and ChungKyu Chon, for
their patience and guidance. I thank my Heavenly Father for training me through the
“desert land (광야)” and allowing me to complete the project.
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost I would like to express many thanks to my advisor, Dr. Lesley
Ferris for her patience and wonderful guidance on tackling scholarly issues. Her superb
balance in both scholarly and practical involvement in theatre has always motivated me
to see her as a role model. The insights I gathered from her seminars on post-colonialism
in line with the transatlantic carnival, convinced me that the geographically and cultural
distant phenomena in South Korea could connect with American scholars. Most
importantly, without her continuous support and care, this study would not have been
completed. I thank Dr. Chan E. Park for her direct and nurturing guidance. She taught me
much more than only academic scholarship. Workshop performances presented through
her efforts, on p’ansori, changgu, and sijo, to name a few, provided opportunities for me
to continue the practical training I had received while I was at Michoo. To me, her classes
were also an academic version of what Korean theatre practitioners were endeavoring—
to introduce Korean arts and culture to a broader audience. I aspire to follow in those
steps in the near future. I also want to express my appreciation to Dr. Joy Reilly, who
always welcomed me into her office with a warm, fragrant cup of English tea. In addition
to being the supervisor for the Theatre Appreciation class I worked as her teaching
assistant, she encouraged me when I felt weak and down; her kind words of
encouragement and her warm smile gave my poor soul a boost so that I could get back on
my feet again. I thank Dr. Thomas Postlewait for his invigorating seminars on the
eighteenth century dramatic literature and nineteenth century American popular
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entertainment, areas of subjects less common in my home, South Korea. The navigation
through the historiographical investigations on the nineteenth century popular
entertainment not only taught me the tools of historiography, but also gave me insights
for treating such neglected forms in the same period in Korea, also largely outside of the
academic focus when I did my graduate studies. Also I thank Dr. Stratos Constantinidis
for his rich and thought-provoking seminars on ancient Greek theatre and its place in
contemporary society, which challenged me to take greater seriousness in contemplating
on the contemporaneity of indigenous Korean theatre. In fact, although I had preliminary
research done prior to coming to OSU, the ideas on and objective of this study began to
take more concrete shape during the very first seminar I took in the first quarter at OSU
by Dr. Allan Munro whose advisor was Constantinidis. There, I was introduced to
Temple Hauptfleisch along with several South African plays in their historical and
political contexts, where I was astounded to see the parallels in the complexity among
political, academic, and theatrical states of South Africa and South Korea. All things
considered, I feel fortunate to have studied under all those prominent theatre scholars and
to have had opportunities to tackle diverse subjects from ancient theatre to contemporary
performance arts.
I also thank The Ohio State University for its various research assistance
programs for graduate students. My initial trips to South Korea were partly supported by
the research and travel grants from the Department of Theatre, the Council for Graduate
Students, and Arts and Humanities Research Grants. The Alumni Grants for Graduate
Research and Scholarship (2008) was very helpful to support necessary expenses. The
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members of the 2008 Writing Group at the OSU also deserve many thanks for their
interests in my research topic and insightful comments as general readers. The 2009
Dissertation Workshop by the IL/IN East Asia National Resource Center was of great
help where I could get insightful comments from the prominent scholars of Korean
Studies in the U.S.
I want to thank my friends whose friendship and emotional support sustained me
during this long journey. While at OSU, I thank my four friends I first met in Columbus,
OH, for their companionship, namely Zekyie Yahsi, Kendra Girardot, Namhee Kim, and
Minwoo Jang. To my Korean friends from my college years, Ahran Kim and Jijoon Song,
who always welcomed me heartily and hosted me with endless love, I owe the deepest
and the most sincere gratitude. Their houses in Long Island and later in Boston, MA,
were my second home that helped me lessen homesick and get re-energized, where also
their beautiful children, Yeonvee and Juho showered me with love and happiness.
My heartfelt gratitude also goes to several personnel in Korea, who influenced the
earlier stages of my academic path: Dr. MiHee Kim, my former advisor in the School of
Drama at the Korean National University of Arts, who encouraged me to examine the
productions of the Michoo Theatre Company; Dr. JunHo Choi, who referred me to the
Michoo Drama Institute at the Michoo Theatre Company by contacting its Public
Relations Manager, Ms. Park HyŏnSuk. Above all, I thank the director Sohn JinCh’aek
and Professor Chŏng HoBung (the then acting teacher of the Michoo Drama Institute)
who kindly suggested that I join the Drama Institute as a regular student instead of a mere
observer and offered a scholarship for the entire year-long acting training program. While
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being a student there, they also asked a newspaper reporter to include my interview to
comment on the training program alongside the interview with a twenty year old female
student, Kim ChinJu. Ms. Park, despite her unimaginably extremely busy schedule, was
ready to help me in terms of providing the requested production materials that I had
requested of the director Sohn. Also the Michoo actors, who are at the same time humble
and proud about their madangnori performance, showed openness toward my
observations and questions. Thanks to Director Sohn, I was allowed to sit in the middle
of rehearsals and discussions, where the atmosphere was sometimes tense due to the
reservedness of the experienced actors who rather want to avoid being seen by an
outsider when their mistakes are being pointed out.
I thank my home church in Korea, Sarang Church and its New Harvest Ministry,
where I have met precious colleagues and friends who have sustained me through
difficult times. To be specific, I want to express my genuine thanks to “Sunny” Sunhee
Kim, whose prayers and encouragements as well as fellowship have helped me to regain
passion and self-esteem. Also Bethany Banister, PhD, who gladly read some sections of
my paper and made suggestions on the language and flow at the last minute, I owe great
thanks. Last but not the least, I thank my parents who were initially against my studying
outside of Korea but have patiently supported me through their prayers during the final
stages of this study and my little brother who has shown his encouragement by
occasionally treating me to nice meals. I sincerely thank all those who have held me in
their prayers during the years between 2010 and 2013.
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Vita
Aug 1997 ........................................................B.A. English Language and Literature,
Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
Dec 2001 ........................................................Completion of M.F.A. coursework, The
School of Drama, The Korean National
University of Arts, Seoul, Korea
2002, 2004......................................................Instructor (Interpreter), The School of
Drama, KNUA
Dec 2003 ........................................................M.A. Theatre, Miami University, OH
2004-2005 ......................................................Student/Observer, The Michoo Drama
Institute, The Michoo Theater Company
2006-2007 ......................................................Graduate Associate, Department of Theatre,
The Ohio State University
2007-2009 ......................................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department
of Theatre, The Ohio State University
2011-2012 ......................................................Teacher, 9-13G, Christian Sprout
International School, Korea
2013-present ...................................................Lecturer, The School of Drama, KNUA

Fields of Study
Major Field: Theatre, South Korean Theatre
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