SHINPA versus SHINP’A. The Influence of Japanese ‘New School’ Theater on the Development of Modern Korean Theater

The traditional theater art of old Korea developed chiefly within the plebeian culture. Despite the lack of proper facilities and its condemnation by Korea’s intellectual elites during the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910), traditional Korean theater developed rapidly until the end of the 19th century. Traditional actors addressed their art to the lower class and exposed the pressing problems of contemporary Korea, but the gravity of the message was mitigated by a satirical, ribald and sometimes downright iconoclastic style. A shift in awareness occurred only in the beginning of the 20th century, when Japanese ‘new school’ (shimpa) theater groups started coming to the Korean Peninsula. They presented popular adaptations of famous Japanese sentimental novels and family sagas addressing the plays to the Japanese residents. Performances were primarily meant for the Japanese residents, but the Koreans were allowed to watch them, even though they were discouraged, at least in the first period, by the foreign theatrical convention and language. The first, and very staunch supporter of the Japanese ‘new school’ theater was Im Sŏng-gu (1887–1921). Together with his group Hyŏkshindan (‘innovation’) established in the beginning of the second decade of the 20th century, he started presenting the Korean audience simplified and adapted versions of Japanese shimpa plays, thus developing a new theater genre and initiating the development of the Korean modern theater. The main aim of this article is to describe the process of adapting the Japanese theater: to show which elements were borrowed from Japanese theater groups, e.g. the concept of onnagata, the theatrical convention, literary sources, tachimawari scenes, melodramatic acting style; to present achievements of Im Sŏng-gu who had to overcome cultural differences between Japan and Korea, political and social barriers and the aesthetic taste of the Korean audience; and finally to point out the consequence of Im Sŏng-gu’a artistic activity.