Challenge of bridging Medea and Chunhyang
Park Ae-ri, left, performed as Medea in the National Changgeuk Company of Korea’s version of the Greek tragedy, which represented the latest attempt by the state-run theater company to modernize “changgeuk,” or traditional Korean opera. / Courtesy of National Changgeuk Company of Korea
By Kwon Mee-yoo
It’s hard to think of a more gut-wrenching character in Western theater than Medea, the heroine of the Greek tragedy named after her, whose fury at her unfaithful husband drives her to murder her own children.
This makes reworking Medea in “changgeuk,” or Korean traditional opera that combines play and the narrative song style of “pansori,” a considerable challenge.
Changgeuk is distinguished by its humor, social commentary and understated expression, and is fit for stories that are better when announced, instead of being portrayed. The Korean folktale of Chunhyangjeon, the love story between two young people who belonged to different social classes in the Joseon period (1392-1910), is perfect for this genre.
Medea, on the other hand, requires a powerful protagonist that leaves the audience terrified and stunned. Many things can go wrong when thespians attempt to present a Medea with the expressive styles they used for the lovely and one-dimensional Chunhyang, but that didn’t stop the National Changgeuk Company of Korea (NCCK) from taking a shot at it.
The changgeuk version of Medea, which was staged at the National Theater of Korea six times before Sunday’s final performance, a modern, Korean twist on the original story penned by Euripides.
A collaboration between playwright Ha A-reum and director Seo Jae-hyung, a musical industry big-name who had previously been involved in “Hero,” “Prince Puzzle” and “The Chorus: Oedipus,” NCCK’s version portrays Medea as a victim of social oppression and male chauvinism. Korea, a country where women continue to experience gender apartheid at work and home, turns out to be a convincing background.
Kim Seong-nyo, the veteran actress who now serves as the artistic director of the NCCK, says that the idea was to portray Medea’s experience and emotions as “han.” Han refers to a Korean cultural concept that has no precise equivalent in English, but could be loosely described as a combination of sadness, helplessness and anger at an unjust environment.
The NCCK’s work does provide a more moving and sympathetic portrayal of the grief-stricken wife. She expresses great fury at her husband Jason, who is trading her for a younger woman, but spends an equally amount of emotional energy lamenting the death of her children. Medea is strictly portrayed as a product of her environment, which actually makes it an honest interpretation of Euripides’ work.
Even Creusa, the Corinthian princess who steals Jason away, is portrayed as an independent and socially progressive woman, who refuses to accept the Golden Fleece as a wedding gift because it’s related to Medea.
It’s debatable whether the NCCK’s product was effective as an effective vehicle for a complicated interpretation of Medea. There are no spoken lines between the actors and the story is told through “chang,” or the narrative part of pansori, to the background of Hwang Ho-joon’s music.
Traditional Korean string instruments “haegeum” and “gayageum,” bamboo flute “daegeum,” and percussion instruments blended well with a piano to produce a minimalist sound that ideally supported the narrator’s voice.
The chorus also played an important role as they did in ancient Greek plays. The chorus leader observes neutrality, while female chorus sings from Medea’s perspective and male chorus sings in favor of male characters including Jason and King Creon of Corinth. The chorus continuously sings “Man commits crime but woman gets punished,” which penetrates through the message of the performance.
A sloping stage designed by rising set designer Yeo Shin-dong visualizes Medea’s instability as well as the womb of the tragic woman. As Medea stabs her own children, a big, red knife object comes down from a slit in the stage ceiling, maximizing the situation pushed her to kill her children.
The NCCK will stage its repertoire “Seopyeonje” from Sept. 14 to 22. For more information, visit www.ntok.go.kr.