The essay will critically explore the rise of modern; Broadway hit musical theatre within contemporary South Korea, which saw a marked increase in the importation and adaptation of Western musical theatre. It was largely a result of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, known as the Korean wave, and it started around 1990s. Further, the wave has further been established to have made South Korea one of the most critical states across the world to shore up the worldwide musical theatre economy. In the 1970’s, the South Korean theatre was censored by the government; any production that criticized the police, military, or government was immediately shut down 1 . In 1980, citizens began to protest martial law, and by 1990, censorship got eliminated as the government was reformed as a democracy 2 . The government of Korea declared 1991 as the “Year of Theatre” and began supporting the development of theatrical spaces. As a result, theatres became increasingly highly regarded by the public. In competing with television and movies, shows began to import American theatrical productions, particularly musicals, to perform in Korean and for Koreans.
Some of these performances included Guys and Dolls, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Jesus Christ Superstar. These productions were incredibly successful, and as a result, the musical theatre became a staple genre in the South Korean theatre. Eventually, the number of Korean musical productions would exceed the number of American musical productions. South Korean theatre introduced a foreign element- American musical theatre- into its vocabulary, altered aspects of production to cater to Korean audiences, and eventually used this genre to springboard into a rich and distinctly Korean musical theatre scene. I became interested in this topic upon researching how often classic, “all-American” musicals were performed around the world; Korea, in particular, struck me as a unique theatrical atmosphere in which to play these pieces.
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The impact of Western cultural colonization on South Korean theatre can be viewed through the analysis of three major factors: (1) the conventional orientation toward Western realist measures, (2) complex sociopolitical and historical conditions, and (3) the impetus toward Koreannesque theatre. Following this chapter’s accounts on the first factor, Chapter 2 and 3 examine the remaining factors. Indigenous South Korean cultural traditions are now readily accepted by South Korean artists and scholarly critics alike, who seem to take this for granted. The process that leads to contemporary Koreannesque theatre deserves scrutiny from multiple angles. This is especially important because the development of Koreannesque theatre is a process undertaken by different social sectors in Korea 3 . Even within theatrical venues, various political and artistic stances are intermingled. Thus, extant reviews of mainstream scholarly critics, who may or may not have understood the cultural significance of the Madang Nori, need to be scrutinized. For instance, artists with different backgrounds and objectives had varied responses to the resurgence of indigenous culture. While artists like Kim ChŏngOk, Ahn MinSu (directors), and Yun TaeSŏng (playwright), who have their roots in Western theatre, attempted to infuse Korean elements into an overall Western structure, artists such as Oh T’aeSŏk and Lee YunT’aek focused on creating a hybrid of theatre unique to Korea 4 .
Although Koreannesque plays are actively produced in the West at present, this is not necessarily a new phenomenon. The incorporation of indigenous performance into the mainstream theatre that characterised the 1970s and 1980s is termed modernization of tradition or contemporization of tradition. This ground-breaking movement, by a relatively small number of theatre practitioners, stood in opposition to the big, colonialist attitude of their peers. In the 1920s, Korea saw an insurgency of Western realist drama. During the Japanese occupation from 1910 until 1945, Korean elites sought to enlighten their fellow citizens by emulating Western realist dramas, believing this would help the Korean people to liberate itself from the oppression of the Japanese Colonial Government 5 . After Japanese occupation, the devastating Korean War that lasted from 1950 until an armistice was declared in 1953, and the modernization process of South Korea under the Park ChungHee regime, traditional art forms in all genres largely disappeared from the city of Seoul. It includes various types of Madang Nori. By the 1960s, thoroughly disconnected from indigenous performance culture, the Korean theatre stage was dominated by Western dramas and Korean plays written using Western dramaturgical models.
Contemporary Korean theatre scholars and artists grapple with two predominant issues: (1) the perception of “inferiority” or “belatedness” of Korean realism compared to Western Realism, and (2) a deeply rooted tradition of literary-based analysis. The Korean artists and critics who argued that Korea lacked masterful original plays claimed that Korean staging of Western plays was necessary to the establishment of a legitimate theatre in Korea. As of the present year, 2013, the future of South Korean theatre stages appears hopeful 6 . No canonical theatre seems to dominate anymore and younger generations of directors, playwrights, and performers—who seem versatile enough and have the ability to bridge different genres and styles—have come to the fore. Due to an increasing awareness of the need for basic knowledge and skills in Korean indigenous performing art culture at theatre institutions, actors seem to have received a much more balanced training in Western and Korean theatre. While the older (beyond the age of sixty) generation is busy tackling fast-changing aspects in Korean society, younger generations are being offered better opportunities and support to create and develop their artistic world 7 .
Various supporting programs such as a new playwright prize, stage readings, and incubating programs, are usually supplemented with monetary awards or administrative support. These new additional benefits are immensely helpful to aspiring young artists. At the same time, a crucial change has been observed and felt in Korean theatre regarding the size, characteristics, and ideas of a theatre company 8 . As could be seen in Oh TaeSuk’s Mokwha from a few years ago, actors no longer confine themselves to the conventional theatre a and devotedly work for a single director and his theatre company. In contemporary South Korea, an increasing number of actors are working on a freelance basis, searching for suitable productions and staff. For a relatively large theatre company like Sohn’s Michoo, it is no longer realistic to pursue a family-like, communal theatre company atmosphere and expect the actors show devotion and focus.
The Korean theatre before the 20th century was focused on performance rather than drama. Plots were used to drive the show, and there were performance presentations such as shaman ritual, the circus and even dance referred to as Nolan or Yeonhee implying playing. Until the 19th century, high forms of South Korean public theatre included Pansori and Talchum. Talschum was a mask-dance while Pansori was a kind of storytelling where a single central performer took the audience through the entire narration. It is critical to note that neither of the two, Pansori nor Talchum had specific fixed scripts and was passed through word of mouth from generations.
Throughout the 19th century, there first ever contemporary theatre referred to as Hyopyul-sa was developed in the year 1902 and new plays began emerging and term, “new Plays” was used extensively by the Korean thespians to mean the western drama during this time. Within the same period, the proscenium stage was developed in addition to Shakespeare. Additionally, there emerged a wave that was popular throughout the practitioners of theatre that was used to illustrate an existing line between the contemporary and the traditional waves. In the modern days, the traditional theatres have been maintained and practiced by what has come to be known as living national treasures which entails individuals picked by the state due to their exceptional skills in traditional arts and were financed by the government to pass them down 9 .
It can be argued that Korean theatre has extensively spread throughout the world and has gained prominence in the majority of the countries such as US and Australia. In most instances, the themes in these theatres comprise of modernized and revised versions of the traditional Korean play that are full of melodrama. With the production of the following influential artists including, Assassins, Les Miserables, Mozart, Jekyll and Hyde, Phantom of the Opera, Rebecca, and even Scarlett Pimpernel it could be understood why producers are currently seeking into the lucrative Asian markets. It is also believed to have taken over Japan that was initially the major presenter throughout the region. These are among the modern Korean playwrights, designers, and directors behind the production of contemporary works. All these producers have also been established to have a recent production in Seoul. Studies have further determined that one of the most significant steps within the Korea’s profile is its close relations with the US Theater as its closest producing partners. Famous show that was performed by Korea and US was the popular 2010 reinvention of Dreamgirls. The OD Musical, Korea’s most famous and music production corporations produced with US co-producers and then were released in Seoul before selling the brand to various parts of the world. The use of pop stars majorly changed how many people attended a production, and their role in the theatrical advancement of musicals cannot be ignored 10 .
One of the most prominent producers, Cameron Mackintosh, considers Korea a robust industry for all his musical albums. With approximately 50 million populations, Seoul seems to boast of the greatest performances of Opera Phantom. The countries have successfully developed a healthy relationship and interests in the Western Music. Research has established that the primary reason behind the success of South Korea and its emergence as a prospective market in the region is its geographical position. South Korea sits strategically between the US and Australia, and this has made the country an excellent network for European, Australia and the even US licensed production. Further, Broadway producers in the recent years have come out firmly recognizing the importance of the rapidly expanding market and more specifically major producers like the Nederland Group that established Broadway division.
The musical industries have become one of the sectors that have been efficiently presented with a high potential to expand the touring market. The other most attractive factor is related to the aspect that South Korea is massively acquiring local performance licenses to enable the producers to produce from Europe. Rebecca from German and Mozart from France are among the artists who have experienced increasing achievement in the Korean theatre 11 . None of the shows have been reported to have gained significant UK interests. South Korea has recently focused on its musical theater development, and this has contributed significantly to their theatrical genre in Korea as its musical heroes developed locally have been widely accepted and continued to be played throughout Seol.
Play export and licenses began to acquire a centre stage position throughout South Korea. For instance, there was mousetrap's open run that started recently in Seol's lively theatre district that provides an efficient mix of small house akin to Off-Broadway to enormous stage performances. The play profile by the modern-day playwrights, for instance, Arthur Miller and David Mamet have significantly grown. In addition to this, South Korea further established a robust and thriving market for the global touring. For example, the Scotland's National Theatre Black watch was reported as one of the successful international presentations that took place at Seol's National Theater last year. Also, With the rapid developments for the international festivals throughout the country in addition to the yearly international theatre conferences, South Korea aims at establishing and boasting of the potential lucrative theatre industry. Further, with a highly efficient infrastructure that can facilitate co-production and the capability to develop, import and exploit first-class works with adequate resources and technologies to facilitate the successfully delivery of the main-stage presentation.
In the past years, there has been a highly successful production of "Grease," which incorporated both Korean and English language into the American classic. The study further established that this production was relatively recent, proving that these musicals still hold a common place in Korean theatrical culture. This production is nearly indistinguishable from what would be its American counterpart, save for the language 12 . Arguably, regarding the international producers who were interested in Korea, the capability to co-produce and release work, for instance, the Dreamgirls demonstrated that there is the potential to attain massive savings in the cost of production compared to huge expenditures connected with the first opening high US productions. Scholars have argued that it remains to be seen over the following years where South Korea’s rapid growth and expansion of its theatre industry will be able to retain its economy and an audience that is in a better position to sustain a huge volume of work currently generated. Further, another area of interest to consider is whether its work will be exported to various global countries.
The pop phenomenon Psy and his huge worldwide hit Gangnam style is also seen as one of the most high-profile culture exports in South Korea. Gangnam style is one of the most major theatrical productions performed within recent memory. The previous president of the US, Barack Obama came out commending on the success of the song as an excellent model to be emulated globally. The style has been swept by the vibrant Korean musical and theatrical cultures. Due to this, it has been shown that it brought about a renewed international focus on this country 13 . Focusing on the original Korean musical that was performed in the years 2012, it displayed influences from American musicals- including large dance numbers and elaborate, colorful costumes- but also proves that Korean musicals have, themselves, become a major genre within their right 14 . During the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that was conducted this year, there was the presentation of the Korean festival of work that comprised of the contemporary drama extending to musical comedy and music shows for a wedding. The same styles of the show were also prevalent in the traditional music, for instance, the Cook’in. One of the most interesting facts was that the leading global media attendance, particularly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that was performed in the year 2016, had its origin from South Korea. Ultimately this is a sign of the country’s hunger for growth in the theatrical genre.
In conclusion, the essay has established that the South Korean theatre is commonly carried out in the Korean language and is comprised of the Korean descent. In the contemporary years, South Korea rose to global prominence, and their theatres have become vibrant particularly in the US while extending their popularity to various parts of the world. The status of South Korea throughout the world has grown rapidly especially in the recent years and in the process, this has demonstrated that the country currently has the skills and the critical economic assets to compete with Japan vigorously. Further, South Korea is to be taken much seriously as one of the most prospective worldwide theatre industry. Most directors believed that Korean productions primarily cater to American audiences; this serves as proof that audiences influence Korean theatre outside of their culture.
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1 Nichols, Richard. "Contemporary Korean Theatre: Playwrights, Directors, Stage- Designers (review)." Asian Theatre Journal 19, no. 2 (2002): 351-54.
2 Halag1060. "Summer Nights - Grease Korean Cast 2005." YouTube. April 02, 2008. Accessed March 12, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppIvcLSwgtM
3 Nichols, Richard. "Contemporary Korean Theatre: Playwrights, Directors, Stage- Designers (review)." Asian Theatre Journal 19, no. 2 (2002): 351-54.
4 Halag1060. "Summer Nights - Grease Korean Cast 2005." YouTube. April 02, 2008. Accessed March 12, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppIvcLSwgtM
5 Marionettekorea. "2012 The Marionette Korea Musical / Theatre / Show." YouTube. March 18,
2012. Accessed March 12, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAU_Sn15OrI
6 "Pansori, Talchum, and Contemporary Korean Theatre." YouTube. December 02, 2012.
Accessed March 12, 2017.
7 Nichols, Richard. "Contemporary Korean Theatre: Playwrights, Directors, Stage- Designers (review)." Asian Theatre Journal 19, no. 2 (2002): 351-54.
8 Halag1060. "Summer Nights - Grease Korean Cast 2005." YouTube. April 02, 2008. Accessed March 12, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppIvcLSwgtM
9 Halag1060. "Summer Nights - Grease Korean Cast 2005." YouTube. April 02, 2008. Accessed March 12, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppIvcLSwgtM
10 Healy, Patrick. "Heartthrobs Rule the Korean Stage." The New York Times. December 28, 2013. Accessed March 10, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/theater/k-pop- stars -selling-stage-musicals- in-korea.html.
11 Halag1060. "Summer Nights - Grease Korean Cast 2005." YouTube. April 02, 2008. Accessed March 12, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppIvcLSwgtM
12 News, CBS. "Rise of Broadway shows in S. Korea is only the beginning." CBS News. June 09,
2014. Accessed March 12, 2017. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rise-of- Broadway -shows-in-South-Korea/.
13 Wetmore, Liu, Mee, Liu, Siyuan, Mee, Erin B., and EBSCOhost. Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900-2000 / Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr, Siyuan Liu and Erin B. Mee ; SerieEditors Patrick Lonergan and Erin Hurley. Critical Companions (Methuen Drama). 2014.
14 Nichols, Richard. Modern Korean Drama: An Anthology / Edited, with an Introduction, by Richard Nichols. Paperback ed. 2011.
