• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.659-671
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• 2013

Through Korean traditional opera (changgeuk) Medea, composer Hwang Ho-jun showed eclectic music idiom by 1) writing music (jakchang) on manuscript paper and score, 2) introducing the "song-through" format, 3) including various solo melodies, 4) maximizing the effect created by a singing narrator (dochang) with the chorus master and a mixed chorus, 5) seeking an interplay of tension and release by using both discord and chord, 6) achieving the effect of kil-bakkum, the Korean traditional method of modulation, through modulation and borrowed chord of Western music. In Medea, instrumentalists adopted suseong-banju (Korean traditional accompaniment) which does not spoil the voice of singers. Hwang adopted song for the way how singers express various hidden sides of play among song, aniri (narration) and balim (gesture) and introduced the Sung-through format in which the play is comprised entirely of song. In Medea, oral sounds expressing wail, lament, cheer, sneer and scream are often used and various solo melodies appear that fit for personalities of characters, clearly showing what bunchang (singers' singing songs divided according to characters) is all about. And discord and chord are effectively used according to the development and mood of play. Hwang also achieved successfully the effect of kil-bakkum by abandoning the traditional modulation method and boldly introducing modulation and borrowed chord of Western music.

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.32
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• pp.333-370
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• 2016

This study examines self-reflexive scenes of Changgeuk [창극; Korean classical opera] Seopyenje [서편제]. This show deals with Pansori [판소리; a kind of Korean folk play] and its singers. The uniqueness of this show is that although it is a new creative work of Changgeuk, the traditional Pansori music is used intactly. These characteristics are related to some self-reflexive scenes in the show: the narcissistic reference of Pansori makes to seem that this show inherits a artistry of Pansori; a play within a play and a role-play reinforce a reality on the action and characters of outer play; an intertextuality, bringing the narrative and music of Pansori Simcheong-ga [심청가] in this show, it makes audiences spontaneously discover a connection between the cited original text and the hypertext. Namely, the self-reflexivity of Changgeuk Seopyenje doesn't destroy an illusion, but rather it presents a kind of conservative self-reflexivity which uncovers a part of tricks for the illusion in order to create new illusion.

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.33
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• pp.59-95
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine the text and musical characteristic of , a changgeuk (a Korean traditional opera), by the National Theater of Korea, which was performed overseas with the title of and recognized its artistic values home and abroad alike, focusing on the process of its rebirth from a lost pansori. A changgeuk was dramatized from a lost pansori into a Korean traditional opera. In the process of rebirth of , the content of latter half, which is the performance of a funeral service for the deceased Byeongangsoe, was deleted, and the contents of Ongnyeo's fight against jangseungs in order to take back Byeongangsoe was newly inserted, thus creating textual changes. In addition, as the title presents, Ongnyeo is no longer a conventional lewd woman, but a subjective and independent female who is fighting against fate, different from its original perspective in which the leading character is Byeongangsoe. All the sounds of a changgeuk were made by the creative technique of traditional Korean songs through various attempts, such as inserting chords between performers in order to present most appropriate songs for the opera, namely proper sounds for the hidden side of the opera. In addition, according to the change of mind of performers or characters, the tone and vocal sound of the song were different. In particular, a changgeuk attempted a variety of techniques in the accompaniment of music, and used many sound buks or diverse genres such as popular music, waltz, classic and folk songs of every province, thus presenting challenging attempts. These attempts made the opera more abundant and helped it to be expressed realistically and dramatically. As above, the contents of a changgeuk were borrowed from classical narrations, but its musical aspects got off the technique of traditional changgeuk, thus attempting various changes and techniques. In this vein, it presented a novel modality of changgeuk equiping with the characteristic of 'reviewing the old and learning the new,' thus proposing the directivity and possibility of changgeuk in the present society.

• 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.

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.34
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• pp.43-71
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• 2017

Theatre for young people which have been barely survived after 1990's are attracting new attention because the systemic production of Theatre for young people by establishment of theatre for young people institute in national theatre company has affected and the influence of adolescent on society has been increasing. It brought the phenomenon that theatre for young people becomes young writers' first work. The national chaggeuk company of Korea firstly showed the work which can be described as theatre for young people in 2013. It seems to be meaningful to examine how the critical mind of theatre for young people is expressed in changgeuk because its writer and director are all experts on theatre for young people and theatre for young people takes a part among vigorous experiments of changgeuk. This study starts with the premise that it is necessary to examine the meaning and the direction because it's the first theatre for young people. It can have positive review because it highlights the present meaning of tradition which channgeuk has by contemporary questioning and it keeps the identity of channgeuk by making it focused on rhythm despite various musical attempts. However, it seems to be solved that it weakened the possibility of voluntary playgoing by putting distance to audience with emphasis of dramatic aspect and curtail of commentary. As the way to solve this problem, it is suggested to be an effective strategy to set the goal direction and repeat various description.