Donghak Movement Through Music Drama
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
About 200 university students, graduates and professors of Chonbuk National University will put on a new ``music drama'' titled ``Mung Bean Flowers Will Soon Bloom'' at the National Theater of Korea July 2.
It is the first attempt for a regional university to take a large-scale show to the National Theater in Seoul.
The music drama is a new format combining three genres ― opera, changgeuk (Korean traditional opera) and dance drama ― consisting of 12 acts for one hour and 40 minutes.
``Major stars will give operatic performances, and changgeuk and dance moves will be well mixed with Western musical tunes,'' Jung Heoi-chun, art director and professor of the department of Korean traditional music at the university's art college, told reporters in a press conference.
The drama is a fusion of Western and Korean traditions, adopting traditional folk songs, pansori (traditional narrative songs) and traditional and contemporary choreography on the top of Western orchestration, Jung said.
The work was first created last year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the university. ``To mark the anniversary last year, we thought three departments ― the Korean dance, music and opera ― of the art college should cooperate to put on a performance together. It was not easy to mix the three genres into one big-scale piece. There were many clashes between the genres, but now there is great teamwork producing the best work,'' Jung said.
About 50 members of the Western and Korean traditional orchestras will team up for the harmonious drama.
``In the current musical-oriented performing arts industry, this traditional fusion work is important. It is also part of the efforts to find the identity of traditional performance,'' Jung said.
In the past, some operas and changgeuk dealt with the story of the Donghak Peasant Movement but this is the first time the story is dealt with in a fusion form.
The movement took place around the province and later spread throughout the country. ``So we want to commemorate the historical movement,'' Jung said.
The Donghak Peasant Movement broke out in 1894 as a religious and political movement.
The musical portrays the historical background of the movement in the late Joseon period and the process of the farmers' uprising, centering on the clash between the peasants' leader Jeon Bong-jun and the corrupt official Jo Byeong-gap.
``The movement still remains controversial over whether it was a revolution or just an uprising. But through the music drama, we can see its deep meaning,'' he said.
The university is renowned for its traditional arts, which enables students to nurture their talent.
Suh Geo-suk, president of the university, said that the university makes it a rule for its students to master pansori or danso (short bamboo flute) before graduation regardless of their major.
``It is compulsory for students to learn Korean traditional music as part of their courses to make them feel proud of our traditional music,'' Suh said.
Admission to the drama will be free. If interested, call 063-270-4695 for reservation.
The drama will be staged at 7:30 at Main Hall Hae of the National Theater of Korea in Seoul on July 2.