Adoptee's journey from Atlanta to Mokpo
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Gay bar owner Delia (played by Kang Yun-seok), left, and Korean adoptee Josh Cohen (Choi Jae-rim) in a scene from the musical “Airport Baby” / Courtesy of Seensee Company
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Korea previously exported babies because many orphans after the Korean War (1950-53) were adopted overseas. According to a statistics by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, over 148,000 Korean babies were adopted overseas from 1953 to 2001. Koreans generally take pity on the adoptees, but many of them found loving homes and lived good lives.
A new musical “Airport Baby,” currently staged at Art One Theater in Daehangno, downtown Seoul, challenges such prejudices against adoptees.
The musical begins with the namesake song "Airport Baby," in which Josh Cohen is the protagonist, a Korean adopted by a Jewish family in Atlanta, Georgia, played by Choi Jae-rim. In the song, Josh sings of the adoptee's desire to search for his roots who thought babies were born at an airport and delivered to their parents.
"Airport Baby" is the debut work of writer Jeon Su-yang and composer Chang Hee-seon. The charm of "Airport Baby" comes from telling a contemporary story with engaging music. Josh's situation is not so far from the daily life of many others. The story is somewhat melodramatic, but the tale of adoptee is half truth, half fiction, combining tales of two adoptees the writer and the composer acquainted with, respectively.
Music director and actress Kollen Park directed the production. Park, who is born to a Korean father and an American mother of Lithuanian descent, has a good understanding of both Korean and American cultures and balanced the tone of the musical somewhere between a documentary and a sentimental tearjerker.
"Since the musical is about an adoptee, we worried that it might end up a tear-jerking melodrama. However, it turned out to be a great entertainment, peppered with humor, but is also socially meaningful at the same time," Park said.
Josh was brought up in a loving Jewish family and he is satisfied with his life, but he embarks on a journey to better understand himself.
The musical highlights Korean's sense of guilt regarding the adoptees. When Josh finds out that his mother's address now does not exist due to a redevelopment project, he decides to stay in Korea for a year to look for his birth mother. To make living in Korea, he gets an English instructor job and whenever he introduces himself as an adoptee, Korean people offer an apology, which Josh cannot understand.
The story takes an unexpected turn when Josh goes into a gay bar "Delia's Dilly Dally" in Itaewon, one of Seoul's international districts, mistaking it for a deli. There Josh finds Delia, an old gay man who supports Josh in his journey to find his roots.
Delia suggests Josh to make an appearance at a television show and Josh’s uncle calls him and tells him about his mother’s whereabouts after watching TV. However, when Josh goes to visit his mother, she changes her mind and declines to meet him.
Actor Choi said he tried to find the deficiency in Josh in order to understand the character. "Josh is an ordinary person, but his tale is something extraordinary. His joy, sadness and anger comes from something he lacked of and I try to portray it on stage," he said.
The creators of the show retained as many linguistic subtleties as possible in this linguistically-varied musical. There are three forms of language in the show ― Korean, English and South Jeolla dialect. Josh's hometown is the southwestern city of Mokpo, South Jeolla Province and his uncle's strong provincial accent obstruct their communication, which is portrayed in the hilarious song "Watch Out Sky."
Josh sings “No Heaven for Me” at Kimbap Heaven, one of Korea’s common fast food chains, which reminds the irony of the name.
The set resembles an airplane, which represents Josh’s identity. It changes to an English institute, Delia’s bar in Itaewon, a Jewish home in Atlanta and Josh’s home in Mokpo with projections, adding diversity to the musical.
A five-member live band of piano, violin, cello, bass and guitar accompanies the show.
"Airport Baby" runs through March 6. Tickets cost from 40,000 to 50,000 won. For more information, visit www.iseensee.com or call 02-577-1987.