This paper is to lay the groundwork for research on Madanggek, the unique local theatre genre in contemporary Korea which has a highly artistic and social value, by collecting original sources such as unpublished plays of the 1970s and early 1980s and ...
This paper is to lay the groundwork for research on Madanggek, the unique local theatre genre in contemporary Korea which has a highly artistic and social value, by collecting original sources such as unpublished plays of the 1970s and early 1980s and putting detailed explanations including interviews with creators.
The research on Madanggeuk activities which happened outside official performing arts scene has been difficult to undertake, despite its importance in history, as its plays were not published and there was a lack of basic information on creators and the circumstances surrounding the plays' creations. Starting from this critical mind, this study collected 19 Madanggeuk plays from the 1970s to early 1980s, interviewed those who wrote and engaged in the productions and came up with loyal oral explanations without rewriting.
The plays and interviewees in this study are:
① Chae, Hee-wan <The Story of Jesus>, <Myal>, <Like a Star in the Night Sky>/ ② Park, Woo-sup․ Kim, Bong-jun <Solve the Dongil Bangjik Case>, <Mask Dance at a Rural Village>/ ③ Kim, Young-chul <Ssitkim Mask Goot>/ ④ Shin, Jae-gul <The Life of Jesus> 'Three plays of Wonpungmobang Norimadang’/ ⑤ Koo, Jae-yeon <Mask of History>/ ⑥ Hwang, Sun-jin <Kwanak Goot>/ ⑦ Ryu, In-ryul <Torchlight of Labor> / ⑧ Park, In-bae <Theatre of Life>, <Rain, Rain>, <White Frog> / ⑨ Kim, Min-gi <1876-1894>/ ⑩ Kim, Chung-hee <Madangseoi> / ⑪ Cho, Kyung-man <Jookjangmanghye> / ⑫ Lee, Sang-woo <Children of the Darkness>/ ⑬ Woo, Soo-hong <Ahnam Daedongnori>
These oral explanations tell us in details how university drama and mask-dance clubs were organized and acted, how they worked together with nation-wide organizations, farmers and workers, their relations with students' movement, Madanggeuk leading artists' social make-up and their artistic experiences, Madanggeuk's unique method of realization and how it achieved its artistic characteristics, etc..