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This article reexamines “Jayugeukjang Iyagi” as a key text in Kim Ujin’s theory of theatrical movement. “Jayugeukjang Iyagi” reworks Barrett Clark’s discussions in Four Plays of Tthe Free Theater and Contemporary French Dramatists, rather than merely translating them. In the American context of the 1910s, Barrett Clark presented French theater and the Théâtre Libre as examples of “good drama,” and, by extension, assigned significance to André Antoine as a theater manager. Kim Ujin, by contrast, reconstructed these materials within the context of colonial Korea in the 1920s and discussed the sustainability of the theatrical movement at the level of drama. As a result, he presented the Théâtre Libre as a creative impetus that produced new playwrights and plays, and he redefined André Antoine as a “director,” a pioneering figure who led the emergence of new playwrights and dramatic works. Through this, Kim Ujin advanced creative work in dialogue with the public as the “seed” and “germ” of the theatrical movement. This demonstrates that “Jayugeukjang Iyagi” was a practical text that sought sustainability within the realities of colonial Korea. On this basis, this article departs from the existing perspective that has regarded “Uri Singeuk Undongui Cheotgil” as the culmination of Kim Ujin’s theory of theater, and suggests the possibility of viewing Kim Ujin’s theater from a new perspective.

This study aims to elucidate the creative principles behind Kim Woo-jin’s expressionist plays, The Shipwreck(Nanpa) and The Wild Boar(Sandwaeji), by examining the expressionist theater theory of Kitamura Kihachi a prominent director at the Tsukiji Little Theater and a translator of Japanese expressionism. Until now, discussions on Kim Woo-jin’s expressionist plays have primarily focused on textual analysis, with the concept of "vital force"(elan vital) understood as the core of his theory and utilized in interpreting his works. However, the connection between this concept and his theater has not been fully clarified, as the "vital force" concepts of Bergson and Bernard Shaw did not transition smoothly into expressionist theatrical aesthetics. By referencing Kitamura Kihachi’s texts on expressionist theater theory, this study argues that the "rhythm of life"(the rhythm of curves) representing the movement of vital force rather than the concept itself serves as both the philosophical principle and the aesthetic background of Kim Woo-jin’s expressionist theater. This rhythm is the essence of Kim’s theatrical aesthetics and is manifested through his plays The Shipwreck and The Wild Boar. In particular, the condensed and screaming linguistic ambiguity, along with the musical characteristics found in his works, demonstrate that the philosophical principle of the "rhythm of life" is realized through the medium of sound.

This paper analyzes the film Death Song (Kim Ho-sun, 1991) as a text that reinterprets the double suicide of artists Kim Woo-jin and Yun Sim-deok through the lens of colonial melancholy rather than mere romance. The film avoids depicting their death as a simple "love suicide" (jeongsa); instead, it portrays their trajectory toward death as a result of the frustration and despair of colonial subjects unable to realize their artistic ideals. Accordingly, this study examines the film's colonial melancholy by focusing on two key gaps: first, the conflict between high artistic aspirations and the grim reality of colonization; and second, the disconnect between external public records and internal private worlds. Especially for Yun, whose own records are scarce, her inner world is often subsumed into Kim’s through the lens of public consumption. By exploring these gaps, this paper evaluates the film's portrayal of these historical figures from a gender perspective, critically reeaxaminating how Yun’s character is portrayed as a purely voyeuristic object of male desire.