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| A scene from the musical "Gwangju" / Courtesy of Live Corp |
By Park Ji-won
Between May 18 and 27 in 1980, citizens of Gwangju, South Jeolla Province stood up against the martial law imposed by the military junta led by then-President Chun Doo-hwan. About 200 people, including 22 soldiers on the government's side, are known to have been killed during the military crackdown. The 10-day Gwangju Uprising played a key role in igniting the pro-democracy movement in Korea and thus helped move the country's democratization forward.
"Gwangju," a musical marking the 40th anniversary of the uprising, was created in 2020 to remember the event from the perspective of ordinary citizens who were forced to take desperate measures to survive during that turbulent period of Korean history.
"The musical is trying to show the nature of the past of Gwangju which is to tell the truth," Koh Sun-woong, artistic director of the show said during a press conference, Thursday. "It is the story of ordinary people who happened to be there in Gwangju at that time … The key message is to 'Stand up, sing, dance and love.'"
The first season of the musical premiered in October last year. However, it came under fire for allegedly justifying the military suppression by designating Park Han-soo, a veteran soldier-come- spy, as the lead and depicting the citizens dancing as being too trite.
The criticism pushed award-winning director Koh Sun-woong to revise the lead character and some scenes in its second season, which is being showcased at the LG Art Center, Seoul, from April 13 to 25. Koh said he took comments from the audience and production staff into consideration. The character of Park, played by Min Woo-hyuk and CNU of B1A4, was changed to a new recruit into the government force who was born in Gwangju and suffers from the reality he encounters, eventually apologizing to the victims 40 years later.
The musical was also boosted by an actual apology from a former soldier who participated in the crackdown and shot at citizens, the director added.
The show's music and choreography were also changed to best show actual scenes of the past. That is why they are simple and addictive, its composer and choreographer added.
Choe U-zong, the composer of the musical and a music professor at Seoul National University, said, "History books record history. But music records personal stories. I tried my best to include those stories in music. Also, I came up with songs, such as Hula Hula, which were also sung by the people during the pro-democracy movement back then so that people could feel that they are with the people."
Shin Sun-ho, the choreographer, said, "Some may say individual movements, such as stomping, are too simple. But I think it is closer to the actual body movements of the people. Also, I wanted to show that collective stomping by many people could create lots of energy."
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