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A Study on Yu Chijin’s Proletarian Theater Popularization in Binminga

Kim, Jae Suk 1

1경북대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper is aimed at analyzing the characteristics of Binminga (the Slums) and clarifying that they resulted from Yu Chijin’s theater popularization. The central matter in Binminga is the struggle of solidarity strike, but Yu Chijin arranged the poor life of Insik’s family that should take care of his sickness in the front of theater, which could coax the threatening eye of censorship authority. With this intention, he tried to represent the destitute life of laborer’s family realistically where they couldn’t treat the child of pulmonary tuberculosis properly and eventually let the child die. At the same time, writer’s awareness that the struggle accepting individual’s sacrifice is needed was embodied in Junsik’s solidarity strike. Yu Chijin also strengthened the theme of Binminga by utilizing ‘double plot’. The main plotline of Binminga is the course that Insik, a consumptive patient leads to his death and its sub plotline is the struggle of solidarity strike which Junsik takes part in. He maximized the audience’s sadness through the main plotline and connected their symapthy for Insik happening from it with the support of solidarity strike. The unity of running time in Binminga with ‘the whole time of the incident visualized on stage’ and the suitable use of sound effect contributed to combining double plotlines properly. Compared with Yu Chijin’s Tomak(a dugout mud hut) and Beodeunamu seon dongniui punggyeong(the scenary of village freenged with willows), the critical awareness about reality appearing in Binminga was much more powerful. The former works just reproduced realistically the destitute peasant life in colonized Joseon, while further more it Binminga came up with the overcoming alternative. Especially, it is very positive to intensify the criticism of reality by means of making the police appear directly on stage who oppressed the laborer, in that this is the new try that have never been made in previous dramas. Yu Chijin created Binminga which achieved much development compared with two preceding works to practise his own theory of theater popularization. He who had been critical the mainstream of Geukyesulyeonguhoe (the association of studying theatrical art) which was subsided in Tsukiji little theatre found the direction of theater popularization through New Tukiji little theatre. Though he was not a socialist, he highly appreciated the popularity of proletarian theater. So he tried to find the way of theater popularization through theatrical groups of leftism. His groping for theater popularization was realized by virtue of making Binminga performed by Sam·Il theatre group in Tokyo which belonged to Japanese PROT.

Citation status

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