'JSA: the Musical' good, not great

“Joint Security Area” runs through Sunday at the Dongsoong Art Center in Daehangno, Seoul. / Courtesy of Company Da

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Highly-acclaimed works such as "Oldboy’’ and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance’’ have defined Park Chan-wook as a maestro of convoluted, violent films. So it’s easy to forget that the director’s 2000 debut was a straightforward drama about a doomed friendship between South and North Korean soldiers guarding the demilitarized zone.

"Joint Security Area (JSA)’’ enjoyed massive success in local theaters, becoming at the time one of the highest-grossing Korean films ever. This gave Park the freedom to pursue the daring works that ultimately shaped his career.

But if any of Park’s works were to be adapted for musical theater, his first film was always considered the safest choice.

“JSA: the Musical” recently opened at the Dongsoong Art Center in Seoul’s theater district of Daehangno. While the musical heavily borrows from Park’s film, the script more resembles "DMZ,’’ the novel by Park Sang-yeon that inspired the movie.

The story begins with Major Zieg Wersami, who grew up in South Korea, his father’s homeland. He arrives at the JSA to investigate a shooting that left a North Korean solider dead.

Wersami struggles in his investigation of South Korean soldier Suhyeok, who admits to the killing but is reluctant to divulge the details of the story. The North Koreans insist it was an unprovoked attack.

Wersami eventually persuades Suhyeok to open up and learns how the South Korean solider developed an unlikely friendship with the killed North Korean.

The investigation forces Wersami to encounter the history of his own family ― his father was a North Korean who sought refuge in a third country after accidently stabbing and killing his brother after hearing a siren go off.

Meanwhile, Suhyeon, overwhelmed by guilt, attempts to commit suicide and is shot by military police officers in the process. Wersami sees a version of his father in the tortured Sunhyeon.

The musical is an earnest, if not imaginative, work. In the movie, Park masterfully sets up the tragedy through lighthearted portrayals of the South and North Korean soldiers developing their friendship. The musical should be credited for pulling off the same effect.

In the musical, singer-turned-actor Oh Jong-hyuk alternates in the role of Su-hyeok with actors Jung Sang-yoon and Gang Jung-woo. Veteran actors Lee Jung-yeol and Lim Hyeon-su play Wersami.

The musical "Joint Security Area’’ runs through Sunday. Tickets range from 50,000 to 65,000 won. For more information, call (02) 749-9037.