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| Ven. Jeong Nyum, center, head monk of Woljeongsa Temple, and Kolleen Park, right, director of the musical, pose during a recent press conference held at the headquarters of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, Seoul. Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
Audiences will be able to see a part of the musical, "Lepaka Muryang," inspired by Buddhism during the 18th Odaesan Mountain Culture Festival, an annual event held by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism to promote Korean Buddhist culture at Woljeongsa Temple in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province from Oct. 8 to 10. The temple is one of Korea's five biggest temples and a cultural relic built during the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.-A.D. 935), making it over 1,000 years old.
The musical revolves around a stonecutter and the queen of a Buddhist country who wishes to build a stone pagoda. Queen Hyeryu, who seized power in an early age, decides to build the pagoda to help build her political power.
"'Lepaka' means 'stonecutter' in Sanskrit … The musical centers around the journey of Muryang, a young stonecutter who has an attachment to stone while undertaking difficult training in stone cutting from a teacher, in order to become the best craftsman, and then builds a pagoda (for Queen Hyeryu)," Kolleen Park, director of the musical, told reporters during a recent press conference.
The full-length musical is expected to be completed in 2023. Up to six songs and highlights of scenes will be presented as a preview during the festival on Oct. 8. Actor Shin Sung-soo will play Muryang and actress Kim So-hyang will play Queen Hyeryu.
Park, a renowned musical director, directed the piece, which was inspired by her childhood and a piece she wrote about 'tapdoli', the folk ritual of walking around a pagoda in a circle while playing instruments and dancing, praying for wellness. She added that she used to play in the yard of a Buddhist temple and tried to feature this memory in the piece.
A range of programs, such as opening performances by samulnori (a Korean traditional percussion performance) musicians and b-boying dancers, a talk about environment issues, an exhibition of students' paintings of Odaesan, a calligraphy contest and a meditation session will also take place during the festival.
"We organized the festival in Woljeongsa Temple, which has a cultural and historical legacy of 1400 years, to provide hope and comfort to the pandemic-hit world," Jeong Nyum, head monk of Woljeongsa Temple said.
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