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The Discourse of Korean Experimental Theater in the 1970s

Ro-ra Paek 1

1숭실대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This research analyzes the historical significance of the theatrical environment and the production-reception discourse of Korean experimental theater in the 1970s. The Korean experimental theater of the 1970s developed, as a departure from the aesthetic of Korean traditional theater and previous theater forms. It was developed instead by theatrical directors who experienced contemporary American theater directly and applied its new forms to their Korean productions. These origins account for Korean experimental theater's essential characteristics of irony and hybridity. In the process of importing the new western theatrical styles, Korean experimental theater experienced severe conflicts that were reflected in fragmentary and incompletable aesthetic forms, desires, and ideologies. By analyzing the production-reception discourse of Korean experimental theater, this research attempts to explore aesthetic desires and ideologies of directors and spectators. Specifically, it investigates the interculturalism discourse related to Deokhyung Yu and the arguments of Japanese style concerning Minsoo Ann. This investigation will clarify the conflict between the aesthetic desires for experimentation with new theatrical languages and the ideologies that aim to modernize the Korean theatrical tradition. Ultimately, this research will contribute to understanding the development of Korean experimental theater since the 1970s.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.