Theatre
운명
Not translated into English
Yun Baek-nam · 1921
Synopsis
Park Mary, an educated young woman who has graduated from Ewha school, marries by photograph a Korean settled in Hawaii, whom she believes to be honourable and well off. Arriving on the island, she finds a husband much older than his portrait, a cobbler, gambler and drinker, and a joyless married life. Her only consolation lies in the letters of Su-ok, the man she loved before leaving, who soon reappears in her life. Around her, other Korean emigrants show the diversity of lives within the community.
Context
The play, written in 1920, was premiered in 1921 by Yi Ki-se's Arts Association, of which it was the first production, according to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, and gave its title to its author's collection of plays; the National Theatre of Korea dates it to 1924. It denounces the abuses of marriage by photograph, then common among Korean emigrants in Hawaii. The Encyclopedia reads in the collection a mixture of conservative and progressive ideas, which criticises both traditional marriage and the disparagement of new women. The National Theatre revived it in 2018 in its series of rediscoveries.
Who it is for
A short play about a Korean social phenomenon of the twenties; no translation attested in French or English.
Prizes and reception
Performed by popular troupes after its premiere; Professor Lee Sang-woo points out its dramatic interest, long underestimated.
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