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Creative Changgeuk and the Representation of the People / Women during the Liberation Period

  • The Journal of Korean drama and theatre
  • 2025, (85), pp.11~54
  • Publisher : The Learned Society Of Korean Drama And Theatre
  • Research Area : Arts and Kinesiology > Other Arts and Kinesiology
  • Received : July 10, 2025
  • Accepted : August 11, 2025
  • Published : August 31, 2025

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to trace the activities of changgeuk troupes, interpret trends in creative changgeuk, and clarify how ‘the people’ and ‘women’ were represented and mobilized in changgeuk during the liberation period. During the U.S. military administration period, the Joseon Classical Music Research Association and the National Theater Company were newly organized and performed creative changgeuk works based on contemporary realities. The Joseon Classical Music Research Association, formed in Gwangju region, performed Builders(1945) in various regions, but disappeared when a similarly named group organized in North Korea. the National Theater Company, formed in Seoul, performed Cheongsan Flows Naturally, and So Do People(1946) which dealt with the conflicts of farmers in a light and dramatic style, reused featuring Park Gwihee in a female-portraying-male role that had been popular during the late Japanese colonial period. During the establishment of the government period, changgeuk was called ‘national opera,’ historical and legendary works were performed. These works can be divided into two categories: those featuring women fighting against Japanese occupation and those reenacting popular works from the late Japanese colonial period. the National Theater Company’s Princess Seonhwa(1948) featured a female protagonist, while the Joseon Changgeuk Company’s Righteous Woman Nongae(1948) and the Kim Yeonsu Changgeuk Company’s The Imjin War and Gye Wolhyang(1949) emphasized the attitude of women who performed acts of loyalty on the battlefield. Works based on the fall of the nation or related to China, which were popular during the late Japanese colonial period, were also performed. The National Theater Cooperative performed The Spirit of Goguryeo(1948), a renamed version of General Ilmok(1944), while the National Theater Company performed The Great Wall(1950), based on the legend of Maenggangnyeo. In the latter half of the period, women’s gukgeuk appeared and presented historical tales that reproduced the image of men saving the nation, which can be divided into adapted works and works based on ancient history. The Women's Gugak Association’s The Sun and the Moon(1949) was an adapted work that depicted the image of a male figure who won love through his wisdom in solving riddles. The Women's Gukgeuk Comradeship's The Golden Pig(1949) was based on ancient history and depicted the Joseon prince ‘Sun’ defeating foreign forces symbolized as the ‘golden pig’ and saving the ‘Wolji Kingdom of Han(韓).’ Women's changgeuk received support from the military as a performance that reenacted the image of men saving the country. Women's changgeuk became a national opera that imagines the role of the people and women in the (quasi) wartime situation between the Pacific War and the Korean War.

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