By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
The Korean traditional music drama “Oneuli of Today,” influenced by the Jeju Island folktale “A Tale of Woncheongang,” is coming to Seoul.
In this story in which past meets present, traditional and contemporary music and dance are mixed together.
Previously, the folk tale has been reinterpreted as a children’s drama, ballet and animation, using the Korean traditional music of pansori (Korean traditional narrative song).
The drama takes place in an apartment complex called Woncheongang, which is located in the slums of the city. The residents of the small one-room apartments have a different ways of dealing with their problems ― some try to live a better life while others run away from it.
Among them are Would-Be-Actress, Would-Be-Lawyer and Worrywart. Would-Be-Actress dreams of making it in the entertainment business. One day, frustrated and depressed, she tries to commit suicide in her room. She fails, but because of it, she meets Would-Be-Lawyer and Worrywart. Wanting to flee from her current situation, Worrywart looks for Oneuli ― a symbolic, elusive figure representing a hope that is omnipresent but unrecognizable ― with the help of the other two. The labyrinth-like apartment complex is transformed into the legendary fantasy world of Woncheongang.
When Oneuli finally appears, they make a futile attempt to capture her. They fail to realize that while Oneuli has always been with them, she can never be possessed. As they awaken to a new day, the magical creature has vanished. But their situation has changed.
“Oneuli of Today” focuses on how each character chooses to live. The production captures the vividness of the characters and crafts a story everyone can understand and appreciate.
The music and the book were collaborated on by the composer, music director and singers, who all share the vision of reintroducing the genre of pansori as a new tradition.
The book was written by playwright Ko Sun-deok. Her previous works include “Black Wooden Baby” (Gimeunjang Baby), which won the Best Seoul Performing Arts Award in 2004 and Bucharest Performing Arts Award in Romania in 2007, and was an invitee of the International Performing Arts Festival in Stuttgart, Germany, in Novgorod, Russia, and in Cameroon. Ko’s plays have always subtly but succinctly expressed the ineffable quality of Korean folktales. “Oneuli of Today” is no exception.
The music is composed by Han Jeong-lim, whose influences range from classical music to musicals to jazz. Her works include “Hamlet Cantibile” and “Shouting,” both musicals, and “Keumgang,” a Korean opera. In each production, she created original music that accentuated the story.
“Oneuli of Today” will be shown from Dec. 15 to Jan. 3 at Guerilla Theater in Daehangno, central Seoul. English subtitles are available for foreigners.