• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.39
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• pp.357-392
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• 2019

This paper reexamines the formation process of Ch'anggŭk, Korea's musical drama based on p'ansori in the 1930s, focusing on the Ch'anggŭk gramophone records and the repertoire of the Chosŏn Sŏngak Yŏn'guhoe(Korean Vocal Music Association). The paper discussed the achievements and limitations of the Chosŏn Sŏngak Yŏn'guhoe which was at the center of the formation of Ch'anggŭk by examining the activities of the Chosŏn Sŏngak Yŏn'guhoe in the 1930s. The role of 'ipche-chang' and 'narrator' in the Ch'anggŭk gramophone records was seen as Ch'anggŭk imagination that was realized by the members of the Chosŏn Sŏngak Yŏn'guhoe who recognized the 'dramatic space and stage', which is distinct from p'ansori, Korean traditional vocal and percussion music. In addition, the paper discussed the difference and meaning of the concept of 'Sin-Ch'anggŭk' between Seo Hang-Seok and Song Seok-Ha, which is derived from the Ch'anggŭk formation. The performance of stage Ch'anggŭk in the 1930s was a repetition of the discussion that it should reach a point of Kagŭk, music or song dramas. This paper discussed the process of replacing the term 'Ch'anggŭk' with 'Kagŭk' at the time, and examined the way Ch'anggŭk stage was established as a perfect form during the process. The formation of Ch'anggŭk by members of the Chosŏn Sŏngak Yŏn'guhoe could be an important achievement in the history of Ch'anggŭk, but there was no choice but to reveal the limitation in the formal aspect due to the 'refinement' and 'exclusion' according to the cultural policy of Japan. P'ansori musicality was enhanced, but it could not contain the spirit and diversity of the times, so it could be said that there was no choice but to stop as a rudimentary creative imagination of Ch'anggŭk. Ch'anggŭk is a genre that is inherently limited, but the limitation can be overcome over the times, which will be covered in a subsequent paper.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.639-654
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• 2014

What is noticeable in Changgeuk Madame Ong is that for "narrativization," a main character is replaced with Madame Ong and her mother and a reinvented story as a result thereof is the female liberation from oppression. The director sought for the completeness of the narrative with a plot line created (i) by daringly deleting the latter half (episode relating to Gangsoe's death), which was a persistent problem unsolved both in the original and its derivative contents, (ii) by diluting Gangsoe's patriarchal authority and thereby creating the ending of endless love and the fruition of love, and (iii) by severing the link between Madame Ong's doomed fate of widowhood and Gangsoe's doomed fate of death by the violation of a taboo (the key factors of the original story) and at the same time, thereby inserting the doomed fate of death by Jowang (god of fire), declaring a war against jangseung (Korean traditional totem pole), the aesthetic structure representing "fictionization," and enabling a female character to gain love, fame and life through free will and spirit of resistance. The director achieved a remarkable success in terms of composition by (i) taping into a variety of genres of music, (ii) by maximizing the effect of Madame Ong's solo, (iii) by strengthening the "uniqueness of each part" through chorus, (iv) by creating a dramatic atmosphere for the change of scene, (v) by applying a dual variation of tension (resistance theme) and relaxation (freedom theme), etc.