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Representation Patterns of the War Memories in Lee Kang-Baek's Play Chilsanri
Korean Language & Literature
2020, (112),
pp.227-250
DOI :10.21793/koreall.2020.112.227
Publisher : Korean Language & Literature
Research Area : Korean Language and Literature
DOI :10.21793/koreall.2020.112.227
Publisher : Korean Language & Literature
Research Area : Korean Language and Literature
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the war memories of Lee Kang-baek's Chilsanri and their representation patterns. Created in the changing social and cultural topography of South Korea in the latter half of the 1980s when people had full desire for a democratic society even under the oppression of the times, this work restores the memories and scars of individuals, who were forced to remain silent and forget by the state's violence and suppression institutionalized since the Korean War, anew on the stage. With this work, Lee tried to express actively his intention of healing the deaths and wounds that had not been mourned properly, on the theatrical stage. In this context, the present study examined the work beyond the old formal and aesthetic discussions from the perspective of theatrical and literary practice to "seek healing and mourning" through the "representation and restoration of memories" reflected in the work. Lee reorganizes "Chilsanri," a "space of memories" excluded from the official history, and makes it present on the stage, restoring the "suppressed and buried reality" on the text surface. He also restores the voice of the "subaltern" that has been discarded and excluded in the modern history of Korea through the reproduction of these suppressed memories. Lee tries to restore the memories of the Korean War in the swamp of oblivion and mourn and heal the deaths not remembered in history through the "reproduction of war memories." Such efforts are to reflect on the scars and pain of the Korean War, which still continue in the Korean society" together and overcome the contradictions of the divide between North and South Korea. His attempts are his "literary practice" beyond simple theatrical reproduction.
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