'Mr. Heungbo' gives twist to old folktale
A scene from changgeuk "Mr. Heungbo" / Courtesy of National Changgeuk Company of Korea
By Kwon Mee-yoo
"Heungbu and Nolbu" is a popular Korean folktale revolving around two contrasting brothers _ greedy Nolbu and kind Heungbu. The tale is mostly well known for its grand scene describing the splitting of gourds, which produces treasures for good Heungbu and goblins for selfish Nolbu.
However, audiences to "Mr. Heungbo," a new changgeuk (Korean opera) by the National Changgeuk Company of Korea (NCCK), will not see the cathartic scene with sparkling gems or evil-looking dokkaebi (Korean goblins). Instead, they will face the secret of birth, a speaking tiger and an alien monk.
Director Koh Sun-woong, who received acclaim for his adaptation and direction of changgeuk "Madame Ong," has again succeeded in breathing fresh life into a Korean classic tale by adding contemporary values.
The changgeuk is based on "Heungbuga," one of the five surviving stories of the Korean "pansori" storytelling tradition. The original tale revolves around two brothers. The older brother Nolbu kicks out his younger brother Heungbu to keep the inheritance from their father to himself. The good-hearted Heungbu lives in poverty, but he nurses an injured swallow, which later brings a seed to Heungbu, which later produces gourds with treasures. Hearing the news of Heungbu's success, Nolbu deliberately breaks the leg of a swallow and his gourds are filled with destructive things and he goes broke.
"People usually think of virtue as performing good deeds for other people, but I think virtue is for themselves,” Koh said. “I wanted to tell that the good deeds are blessings as they are. As I get older, I think virtue should be rewarded and vice be punished."
In Koh's rendition, Heungbo is adopted and Nolbo born out of wedlock. Heungbo is the elder brother and Nolbo the younger, but Nolbo suggests changing their roles in the brotherhood and Heungbo signs a contract, transferring all his rights as the eldest son to Nolbo.
On his way home from the three-year mourning for his father, Heungbo saves a woman from a talking tiger and collects nine beggars on the street, creating an alternative family. While Heunngbo's away, Nolbo finds out that his brother in fact does not share the same blood and throws Heungbo and his family out.
More twists are in the second act. Heungbo encounters an alien monk when his family attempts suicide out of desperation and the alien suggests meditating. Heungbo achieves spiritual enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, just like Buddha.
The iconic swallow is substituted with a womanizer "jebi" and he brings a seed, but the gourd is nothing but normal. The alien appears again and instructs him to eat the greens from the gourd for three weeks and Heungbo's family finds enlightenment. Heungbo even heals the blind and the crippled, like Jesus.
Co-creating the changgeuk with Koh is pansori prodigy Lee Ja-ram. She kept the major parts of the original "Heungboga," such as "Ganan Taryeong" (song of the poor), "Bak Taryeong" (song of the gourd) and "Jebinojeonggi" (the swallow's journey), but transformed them with modern rhythm.
“Mr. Heungbo” runs through April 16. Tickets cost from 20,000 to 50,000 won. For more information, visit
or call 02-2280-4114.