Introduction Drama of Early Days Western Influences

Introduction

Korean drama has its origins in prehistoric religious rites, while music and dance play an integral role in all traditional theatrical performances. A good example of this classical theatrical form is the masked dance called sandaenori or talchum, a combination of dance, song and narrative punctuated with satire and humor. Slightly varying from one region to another in terms of style, dialogue and costume, it enjoyed remarkable popularity among rural people until the early 20th century.

Pansori, the lengthy narrative songs based on popular tales, and kkokdugaksinoreum or puppet plays, performed by vagabond artists, also drew large audiences. The shamanistic rituals known as gut were another form of religious theater that appealed to the populace. All these performances are presented nowadays, too, though not very often.


There are a few institutions that offer various performing arts in one place, an example of this being Jeong-dong Theater in central Seoul, that presents a traditional performing arts series, drama and music.

The first performance of singeuk (new drama), a departure from the masked dance and other forms of traditional dramas, was presented in December 1902. However, modern drama began to take firm root in the 1910s after the first Western-style theater was opened in Seoul in 1908. The theater named Wongaksa was in operation until November 1909.

Theatrical groups Hyeoksindan and Munsuseong were also organized by those who returned from study in Japan and staged sinpa (new wave) dramas. Sinpa was a concept that countered gupa (old wave) drama, meaning kabuki of Japan. Sinpa dramas first dealt with political and military themes and then were diversified into detective stories, soap operas and tragedies.

While sinpa dramas proved to be a passing fad, a genuine new wave of dramas was promoted by artists who rallied around Wongaksa and raised the curtain of modern drama. In 1922, Towolhoe, a coterie of theatrical figures, was formed, and led the drama movement across the country, staging as many as 87 performances. Drama remained popular until the 1930s, but then subsided in the socio-political turmoil of the 1940s and 1950s. In the following decade, it was further weakened amidst the boom of motion pictures and the emergence of television.

In the 1970s, a number of young artists began to study and adopt the styles and themes of traditional theatrical works like the masked dance plays, shaman rituals and pansori. The Korean Culture and Arts Foundation has been sponsoring an annual drama festival to encourage local theatrical performances. At present, a great number of theatrical groups are active around the year, featuring all manners of genres from comedy to historical epics at small theaters along Daehangno Street in downtown Seoul. Some theatrical performances become very successful and are staged for extended runs.



Drama of Early Days

Korean drama had its origin in the religious rites of prehistoric days. During the Silla Kingdom, dance movements and musical accompaniment were developed into a kind of drama called Cheoyong. The Cheoyong, as described in historical records, was not drama in the strict definition of the term. Even though it included dramatic elements that followed a distinct narrative story line, it was also made up of a series of dramatic dances. Besides Cheoyong, there were several other such performances for royal and popular entertainment, but once again, primary emphasis was placed upon dance movements with music accompaniment which separates them from being considered a true drama in general understanding of the word.

Dancing with musical accompaniment has always been important in Korean classical performances regardless of their official designation as dance or drama. The sandae drama of the Goryeo Dynasty which succeeded Silla contains more definite dramatic elements than the Cheoyong. It was performed on stage by masked actors following a script with a story and occasional spoken lines. Dances and songs dominated the play. The sandae was further developed during the Joseon Dynasty when it became one of the official functions of the court. Eventually, it lost royal patronage and became entertainment for the common people. This most representative of Korean classic dramas found wide popular acceptance, as the subjugated masses of agrarian Korean society found solace in the humorous, satirical mask dramas that ridiculed the privileged classes - Buddhist priests and the yangban aristocrats.

Besides the shows described above, there were other dramatic forms of popular entertainment, such as puppet plays, acrobatic clowning, the Ogwangdae, the Byeolsin-gut (in the nature of a shamanistic ritual), and the Bongsan mask dance. All such classic entertainments, however, declined with the introduction of Western culture in the 20th century.



Western Influences

The introduction of Western-style productions on the classic scene became a definite trend in 1908, when the Won-gaksa Company (1908-1909) began using the Huidae Theater, the first national theater, which opened in 1902. It eventually became known as the Won-gaksa Theater. Until that time, entertainers had been without a theater and had to present their works either on a makeshift stage or in any village square large enough to accommodate a crowd.

The introduction of Western-style shows produced increasing interest in "new drama" which, in contrast to the traditional "old drama" with its stress on music and dancing, relied almost exclusively on spoken dialogue. Less serious in its artistic standards but more popular with less sophisticated audiences were the "new-school plays" with their romantic stories of handsome heroes and beautiful heroines. Drama became so popular in the 1930s that many amateur groups competed with the professionals. Especially noteworthy was the contribution of college groups.

World War II caused a temporary setback, followed by the Korean War, which proved even more disastrous for all segments of Korean society. A postwar boom in the motion picture industry brought further discouragement to attempts by theater performers to stage a comeback. The rapid spread of television and its popular appeal followed. As a result, dramatic works for the most part have recently featured performances in small theaters or restaurants with a limited following. In the 1980s, however, experimental drama emerged and has been highly popular since, especially among young people.