Celebrating 100th Anniversary
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
A 100th anniversary is usually associated with hilarity and festivity, but for the Korean theater arena which turns 100 this year, self-reflection rather than celebration is unfortunately the more likely sentiment with the waning industry seeing dwindling audiences, dwarfed by the booming musical industry and light-hearted shows.
``We should look back to our past first to use the centennial anniversary as a turning point for the local theater arena,'' Park Kei-bai, president of the National Theater Association of Korea (NTAK), said in an interview with The Korea Times.
He said that the theater should find its identity internally and reach much closer to audiences through this year's anniversary.
``Our senior thespians fiercely made plays despite difficult situations under Japanese colonial occupation a century ago. But they never lost their passion and dreams about the power of plays. I want to revive our predecessors' spirits in present thespians who live in these materially rich but spiritually less desperate days,'' he said.
Korean modern theater began with ``Eunsegye'' (The Silver World) by Lee In-jik, which was staged in Wongaksa ― now Chongdong Theater, on Nov. 15 in 1908.
Wongaksa was the first theater exclusively reserved for stage plays and traditional operas in Korea with 2,000 seats at that time. While operating from 1908 to 1910, the theater staged various performances by the best performers of the time including Lee Dong-baek (1866-1950), one of the five Pansori masters of the 20th century.
Commemorating the centennial anniversary, Park recounted the early theater situation where audiences were small because bread and butter issues dominated society after the Korean War
``I think nothing has changed in terms of the theater audience. Although the cultural landscape is better than 50 years ago when I made plays in my youth, still just a small number of people come to the theater,'' Park said.
So why does the theater remain alienated from other performing genres these days? The director-turned-president gave his perspectives about the current situation.
Lack of Government Support?
Surprisingly, for many of today's theatergoers, there was a time when theaters in Daehangno were booming and people had to wait in endless queues to see a play.
Around 1995, almost all theaters were packed with people flush with cash from strong economic growth, Park said.
Park said that those good old days lasted for four to five years, when thespians could live on ticket sale revenues.
During this prosperous time, the infrastructures of the theater industry in Daehangno quadrupled.
The number of theaters increased to 80 from 20-30, while the number of theater troupes rose to 160, up from 80 during that period. Also, more theater-related studies were established at universities, he said.
But the Asian financial crisis which gripped the nation in 1997 burst the theater bubble. As a result, suppliers and the infrastructures remained the same while demand dramatically decreased over the last 10 years.
Park said that since then, the government has strenuously supported plays with large sums of money to reinvigorate the fine arts.
Currently, the Arts Council Korea has set aside about 4.3 billion won and the local cultural foundations have doled out 5 to 6 billion won for the production of plays every year.
``While demand shrinks every year the supply remains the same as about ten years ago, nothing can survive this hard time. If they made even just one good play a year in the booming era, then audiences might have fallen in love with the theater. But during the period, a lot of theaters put on commercial plays just to make profits, making audiences lazy in their appreciation of good quality theater these days,'' said Park.
He said that the government's help is no solution for the staggering industry. Rather, it spoils the quality of the works, which often lack the self-motivation needed to make a good play.
He emphasized ``selective concentration,'' which only provides support to proven and competitive works although the beneficiaries are small.
``Can you think of an unforgettable play you saw recently? It is hard to think of a heart-touching play of late. That's why many people are turning their backs on the theater,'' said Park.
What is the Function of Plays?
Asked about the function of plays in society, he said that recent theater is losing its message and identity at it lacks philosophy, just currying favor with the tastes of the audience.
``I think that artists should lead the masses to elevate their life to a higher and better state for the future by criticizing the present. But recent artists just follow people's tastes, thus mainly creating light-hearted and comical plays to survive, rather than giving them an emotional touch,'' said Park.
He said that historically the traditional performing arts criticized the aristocrats and upper classes, providing both artistic and social functions.
But in the 1970s-80s, the theater was used as a tool for political purposes to educate people under the military regimes.
At that time, many plays in small theaters were created with political messages for the people. ``Such social functions shrunk audiences by being too narrowly focused,'' said Park.
Where to Go?
Korean theater has a long way to go in these musical and light-hearted show dominated days. But among others problems, Park said that it is more urgent to widen the scope of the audience group.
``If we go to the theater, we find most of the audience are youngsters in their 20s-30s. So the spectrum of plays focuses on the youngsters' preferences. Many people in their 50s-60s are turning their backs on the theater,'' he said.
He pointed out that the Daehangno area is still home to small theaters. But said that the more medium-sized theaters are necessary with more quality services to cater to a wider range of audiences.
Concerning the recent trend in star-studded casting strategy by actor-turned-programmer Cho Jae-hyun in ``Yeongeuk Yeoljeon 2'' (A Series of the Best Plays) to boost the sagging industry, he agreed this could be one way to attract new audiences.
``Though one may have gone to see just one actor one may then be moved by a play and return. It is good for our theater industry even if it is a one in 100 chance,'' said Park.
``Through this centennial anniversary, I hope we thespians share the current crisis in the Korean theater situation and rediscover our identity by looking back to the spirits of our predecessors to turn the crisis into another opportunity to leap forward,'' Park added.
Centennial Anniversary Events
The NTAK will celebrate the anniversary of the nation's contemporary theater with various events and projects throughout the year.
Since the opening of ``Namsadangeui Haneul'' (Sky of Namsadang) at ArKo Arts Center, central Seoul, starting from March 27, World Theater's Day, an array of other various events is also planned for the rest of the year.
Also, 18 small theaters and troupes nationwide will unite for a festival in September and October.
Theater troupes from 15 cities nationwide will hold a drama festival at ArKo Arts Center, Dec. 9-31.
The NTAK will also publish a four-volume book on the nation's 100-year theatrical history, in both Korean and English to widely promote the Korean theater to the world.
Chongdong Theater will perform ``Eunsegye'' directed by Sohn Jin-chaek on stage in November.