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A Study on Bang Jeonghwan’s Dramaturgy of Plays of Children’s Story

HONG, Changsoo 1

1고려대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

I studied Bang Jeonghwan’s theatrical career and its meaning, interpreted two plays for children, Noraejumeoni (A Songs’ Pocket), Tokkiui jaepan (A Rabbit’s trial) on the point of theatricality, and studied their dramaturgy. They were adapted by a writer of juvenile stories Bang Jeonghwan. Especially I paid attention to what he said “plays for children so easy to be produced by anyone.” So I interpreted dramaturgy of those two plays His realistic theatrical recognition and children’s theatre activity are closely related with a Korean inherent religion Cheondo-gyo, which was his ideological background of nationalist activity. According to the testimony of his friend, the first play which Bang Jeonghwan wrote and directed in March of 1918 was ○○ryeong (An order~). It dramatized a poor peasant’s tragic reality which had anti-Japanese orientation. His another play Hannere-ui Jukeum (Hanneles' Death, produced in January 14th of 1923) was adapted by him from a Deutsch original work. It was not that a little protagonist went to Heaven, but that she died so sadly. It implicated destitute reality in the Japanese colonial period. Cheondo-gyo’s religious theatre Sinsaengui Il (A New-born Day) possibly has a protagonist’s life in reality and afterlife in Hanul like Heaven in Christianity. He goes on trial there. Much to our regret those two plays are not present. His two theatre of children’s story was named ‘theatre of children’s story to easy to produce.’ He considered not only convenience of, but also economy of performance production. In his two plays he suggested minimal settings and cheap tools to get easily in our daily life as soon as possible. And he used several sound effects such as bird’s sound, cock’s cry, wind’s sound and leaves’ shaking sound etc. They expressed dramatic situation effectively and alluded to changes of each situation. One of the most specific characteristics in his two theatres of children’s story is above all diverse utilization of language. First, we can see repetition of language in texts easily. This repetition helps children spectators understand theatres fully. Because theatre as one of performance arts is flowing-time drama and has irreversibility. We pay attention to contrast of playful and comic language and realistic language in Noraejumeoni, and so playful languages in Tokkiui jaepan. His two plays’ world is a comic world which children wish to live in. The world where a lot of Doggaeby (beings like hobgoblin in Western) live in Noraejumeoni is imaginary, fantastic, festive and romantic world. Tokkiui jaepan is also children’s ideal world which criticized both two adult characters, that is, a tiger’s ingratitude and a stupid passenger. Finally his two dramas have deficits which overlooked easily. What all Doggaeby considered an old man Park as an object of penalty in Noraejumeoni is a fault and dramatic action lacking unity of drama. And a lack of Tokkiui jaepan is due to a want of construction characters Tree and Mountain road.

Citation status

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