2024, Vol., No.81

The Journal of Korean drama and theatre 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.77

pISSN : 1225-7729 / eISSN : 2713-8453
https://journal.kci.go.kr/kdrama

In the 1970s, a unspoken symptom of a loss of language performativity appeared extensively and impressively. This study sees it as a product of the censorship system but a sign of anti-censorship to go beyond it, and traces the circuit of anti/censorship through the theater company 'Eh-jeo-to' and Bang Tae-soo, which dramatically showed the dynamics of such anti-censorship around 1970. 'Eh-jeo-to', which expressed skepticism about the conventional theater norms, opens with a pantomime and continues the experiment of another anti-theatre. Although the result is poor, the experiment continues from the theater to the street. At this time, Bang Tae-soo, the representative of the theater company, participates in an ambitious and meaningful performance that dismantles established art ideas as a member of the ‘4th Group’. However, this group soon experiences a criticality that is not free from the censorship system of the Park Chung-hee administration. Pantomime or anti-theatre or performance is like a flash of anti-censorship in the gap of the censorship system, but the gap and flash are filled and refracted by ideological censorship and custom scandal. The existence and abolition of the ‘4th Group’ becomes a nodule where ‘Eh-jeo-to’ seek change once again. In the past, ‘Eh-jeo-to’ tried to experiment with anti-theatre that were insulated from the idea of established plays, but now it try to harmonize with them. An important change is the restoration of the language implied in silence while expanding the expressive possibilities of mime. It's a turn toward a play with a writer. The play of ‘Eh-jeo-to’, which aims to harmonize words and gestures containing thoughts, has a clearer social consciousness. But this choice is bound to face the power of censorship that has returned to sophistication. This is because as long as the censorship system persists, the movement of anti-censorship is designed to return to the magnetic field of censorship that will neutralize it. This is the situation in which the ‘Eh-jeo-to’ was placed in the mid-1970s. Other unspoken imaginations also need to be illuminated in this circuit of anti/censorship, but Madanggeuk, which combines dance, gestures, and words, is also an object of attention. This is because Madanggeuk is a product of the censorship system, but it is the practice of anti-censorship that enriched the unspoken imagination without being trapped in the circuit.

The National Committee for Film Ethics has been described as a civilian deliberative organization established to inherit the spirit of 4.19, to avoid the censorship of the past and to ensure the autonomy and artistry of films. The establishment of the Youngryun has been of great significance in Korean film history, as the long-standing state censorship was transferred to private hands and, most importantly, the organization was composed of the power of the film industry. It is worth noting, however, that the assessment of the Youngryun is constructed by proxying the violence of authoritarian censorship rather than by identifying specific activities. In fact, Youngryun's activities were not so far removed from the methods of the authoritarian censors, and in some ways, it was because they faced extreme discord with the film industry. The Youngryun was made up of people from all walks of life who considered Korean film to be of a very low standard and believed it should be regulated through bans. Youngryun's code of ethics, which is not too dissimilar to the one promulgated by the Ministry of Education, reveals how Youngryun treated the Korean film industry. Furthermore, the fact that the organization was founded by The Motion Picture Alliance, who is far removed from the production of the movie, reveals that Youngryun is far removed from the spontaneous movement within the film industry.The organization was formed around The Motion Picture Alliance, who had previously shown affinity with social figures who advocated the need for regulation of Korean cinema, while those who actually produced and imported films were forced to pay for the organization's operations amidst increased censorship procedures. This Youngryun of people from outside the film industry never thought to solve problems internally as they arose, and it was turning into a deliberative process that was effectively similar to state censorship. 4.19 Even when the constitution was amended shortly after the revolution to make even the Ministry of Education's censorship of films unconstitutional, Youngryun sought the authority of the Ministry of Education to put itself in a position similar to that of the government censors, and did not consider consulting with the film industry. This created a paradox that binds the film industry, forcing the censored to face deliberations not unlike those of the bureaucratic censors, only more intense. In this way, the Youngryun demonstrated that a body of civilian deliberation can never exist as a free body if it is not formed by internal forces and if it tries to follow the methods and powers of the state censorship.

Over the past decade in the Korean theatre scene, various practices and discourses regarding the performance experience of audiences with disability have accumulated. Nevertheless, due to the inherent specificity of theatrical art, where the scene is constructed through the interaction of diverse components in a limited time and space, and audiences experience it together as a temporary community, access in theatre has often been considered supplementary and additional service under a ableist society. This study aims to analyze the audio-descriptive approach of the theatre B BE BEE based on John Dewey’s “aesthetic experience” exploring how integrated access can be achieved in theatre. B BE BEE illustrates the practice of human performer to connect non-human insects, bees, by trying to break away from anthropocentricism. Focusing on the practices explored and devised during the rehearsal process, this paper examines the use of various sounds other than verbal language for audio introductions, interaction with non-human choruses, and the descriptive speech of the performer related to the affect in terms of material, sensory, performative context. B BE BEE not only suggests ‘access valid to personal sense’ while varying the guidelines of audio description that prioritize objectivity but also emphasizes reconsidering the conventional ableism theatre aesthetics and rehearsal process. Describing the intention of directing and performing strategies, this study holds significance in mediating theory and practice.