Home > Opinion > Meanwhile

A national theater without a nation

Published: 12 Feb. 2025, 00:00

Kim Myung-hwa

The author is a playwright and director.

The term "national theater" exists. Just as we have "national singers" or "national actors," one might assume it refers to a beloved theatrical production. However, in reality, the term originated in Japan’s colonial era, denoting plays forced to serve the imperialist cause of assimilating Koreans into subjects of the Japanese empire.

Actors of a "national theater, " "A happy revelation." [ KIM MYUNG-HWA]

A prime example includes the theatrical competitions organized in the 1940s by the pro-Japanese Korean Drama Culture Association, an entity under the Governor-General’s Office. Due to the shameful history behind these works, most were never published, and aside from a few exceptions, they have remained shrouded in darkness.

Twenty years ago, I participated in a project to uncover and document these forgotten plays. After Korea’s liberation, it was revealed that the scripts from these competitions had been transferred to Harvard University’s Yenching Library under the U.S. military government. Korean scholars, traveling back and forth to the United States, copied the original texts, compiled them into books and began academic research on them.

It wasn’t just a handful of writers involved. Among them were prominent figures like Yoo Chi-jin and Song Young, who later became representatives of South and North Korean art, as well as Im Sun-gyu, a widely celebrated popular playwright. Virtually every major dramatist of that era, regardless of ideological background, participated in these contests. It would not be an exaggeration to rewrite the famous line from poet Seo Jeong-ju’s "Self-Portrait" — “My father was a servant”— to “My father was a traitor” as a reflection of our artistic lineage.

Yet, when reading these individual texts, one’s perspective shifts. Some playwrights acted as outright propagandists, inducing wry amusement, while others embedded a deep nationalistic fervor beneath the surface of state-sponsored messages. Their lives must have been fraught with hardship, navigating an era where even speaking out could be a death sentence.

As we mark the 80th anniversary of liberation, one cannot help but recall Ham Seok-heon’s words: “Liberation came like a thief in the night.” Observing today’s political strife, one wonders — had we been more dignified in assuming our role as rightful masters of our nation, had we truly fulfilled our duty as a people, might we have avoided the chaos we face today?

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.