Photo: Choengjin Keem
(Off) Stage / Masterclass
2.15 Sat 17:30
Yeosung Gukgeuk that started at the end of the 1940s is a similar type of the Korean traditional operas that declined after its popularity peaking during the 1950s through 1960s. It is a genre where singing and dancing are combined and contains remade stories of popular myths or novels based on Korean traditional music, Pansori. Yeosung Gukgeuk obviously appropriates the characters who perform conventional gender role and their typical melodrama. However, it has a significantly, uniquely subversive style — only female players can perform all of the characters. The artist, siren eun young jung, has been researching and documenting Yeosung Gukgeuk mostly in her previous video pieces for about 5 years, and here she gives a stage piece. For this, she invites two important Gukgeuk players, Young-sook Cho and Deung-woo Lee.
Performers: Young-sook Cho, Deung-woo Lee, Gye-soon Lee, Yong Sook Kim
Musicians: Sangmin Cho (Drum), Changhee Han (Daegeum), Han yeo reum Sung (Ajaeng)
Director: siren eun young jung
Assistant Directors: Heein Lee, Bokyoung Kim
Producer: Hyunjin Kim
Produced in 2012 supported by Korea Craft and Design Foundation
Re-Produced in 2013 supported by festival BO:M
Organized by: PARC – Japan Center, Pacific Basin Arts Communication
Co-organized by: Yokohama Arts Festival Executive Committee
Subtitle support: LTI Korea
siren eun young jung
siren eun young jung received her BFA and MFA from the Department of Painting at Ewha Womans University, Seoul. And she received MA in Feminist Theory and Practice in the Visual Art at the University of Leeds. Her artistic interest lies in how the yearning affect of unknown individuals meet with the events of the world, how such contacts become resistance, history, or politics. She is also constantly attempting to expand the feminist artistic language. Since 2008, she has been working on Yeosung Gukgeuk (Korean Traditional Female Theater) Project in which she follows a community of actresses of the genre. In 2013, she was awarded Hermes Foundation Missulsang (Art Prize) with the project.
