Turbulent modern Korean history inspire thespians

By Kwon Mee-yoo

In late 2016, Korean citizens rallied with candles to oust corruption in Gwanghwamun Plaza. With the instillation of political consciousness, popular culture also sought inspiration in symbolic moments from Korea's modern history such as the June Struggle of 1987.

The film "1987: When the Day Comes," which depicts the people's resistance to the authoritarian regime of former President Chun Doo-hwan, attracted over 4.2 million viewers. President Moon Jae-in watched the film Sunday and said, "The movie shows when we muster up our power, the world will change."

The musical "Gwanghwamun Love Song" is a jukebox musical featuring songs of the late composer Lee Young-hoon. The plot revolves around Myeong-woo, a middle-aged man at death's door who goes on a journey to his past with the guidance of transcendental character Wolha.

The musical is staged at the Grand Theater of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, located in the heart of Gwanghwamun where the candlelit rallies were held last year.

As Myeong-woo reminisces on his first love, the audience is taken back to the 1980s. Instead of showing off heroic characters at the head of student demonstrations, "Gwanghwamun Love Song" strikes a chord in the heart of those who chose to be ordinary, or in other words cowardly. Myeong-woo's girlfriend Su-a joins the student demonstrations, but Myeong-woo tries to dissuade her from taking part.

Playwright Koh Sun-woong soothes the hearts of the ordinary people who were at the front of campus demonstrations, but strived to live their lives amid turbulent times.

The musical runs until Jan. 14.

The musical "Sandglass" is based on the 1995 drama of the same name, which is still one of the highest-rated TV series in Korean broadcasting history.

It spans a longer period of time in Korea's modern history from the 1960s to 1990s, covering a variety of events from the 1980 Gwangju Uprising to corruption in the early 1990s.

Protagonist Tae-soo is forced to become a gangster because of his North Korean father, while his love interest Hye-rin, daughter of a wealthy casino owner, joins laborers in her father's munitions factory to protest her father.

The 24-episode drama is condensed into two hours and 50 minutes and some of the events are abridged, but the musical still tries to convey social messages.

"Sandglass" runs until Feb. 11 at the Grand Theater of Chungmu Art Center in central Seoul.

Closer look into student movement

Unlike the two grand musical productions, "The Helmet: Rooms Vol. 1" is an immersive and experimental play composed of two episodes -- "Room Seoul" and "Room Aleppo." In each episode, audiences choose where they sit -- Big Room or Small Room -- upon purchasing a ticket and watch the same plot from different views, as the small theater is divided by a folding door cutting through the stage diagonally.

"Room Seoul" is set in 1987 and 1991 when students fought for democracy, after the government tortured a university student to death.

Upon beginning, three young students talks about why they are drinking soju to produce empty glass bottles for Molotov cocktails, instead of enjoying peaceful college life.

Then the backdrop shifts to a basement storage room of a bookstore in front of a university. The bookstore owner takes in two student activists who are pursued by "baekgoldan" and hides them in a secret chamber.

Baekgoldan, which literally translates to white skull squad, is a notorious group of combat police specializing in suppressing campus demonstration. They were known for wearing white helmets and jean jackets and used shorter cudgels for better mobility.

The baekgoldan officers joke around at first, but soon reveal their true colors as they already know the existence of the hidden room after receiving a tip-off from a mole they planted among the student activists.

What makes "The Helmet" stand out is its portrayal of female characters. One of the two hiding students is female and she grows up during the play from a naive first-time demonstrator to a leader of the student activists. She finds the mole and finally confronts the baekgoldan officers valiantly.

The film "1987" was criticized for eliminating the narrative of women in the democracy movement, but "The Helmet" provides a look at women in student activism. Also the intimate atmosphere of the theater makes audiences feel the heat and tension of the student movement more closely.

Another episode “Room Aleppo” centers on the White Helmets of Syria and different stances on the volunteer organization amid a long-running civil war.

"The Helmet" runs until March 4 at the Daehakro Art One Theater 3.