Nigerians were immersed into the world of Korean Opera with the screening of Chunhyang Escape at the Korea Culture Center Nigeria (KCCN), Abuja.
A 2021 comedic-opera adaptation of the traditional Korean folktale ‘Chunhyangjeon’, Yoon Mi-hyun’s ‘Chunhyang Escape’ reimagines one of Korea’s most famous love stories set in the fourteenth century patriarchal society, by infusing in the female characters a sense of independence and the right of choice and control of their destiny.
Contrary to the original tale where the protagonist Chunhyang, the daughter of a gisaeng, falls for Yi Mong-ryong, the son of a district magistrate, and endures prison time for the sake of her love, till he passed his national exam to come save her, Mi-hyun’s Chunhyang, with the help of her handmaid Hyangdan, escapes from the clutches of Byeon, the new governor of Namwon, to proactively seek solution to her problem.
Among the many lessons and perspectives provided in this adaptation, Mi-hyun shows that love does not necessarily overcome everything – as viewers see Mong-ryong fail the national exam thrice, and in fact, never became a government official. It took Chunhyang’s rearrest, to ignite his fire to alert the King’s officials to take action against the love-obsessed Byeon.
While she supported her mistress to the end, the Nigerian viewers could further relate to Hyangdan’s suggestion that marrying a single, powerful and intelligent man (Byeon) is admittedly more tempting than a dullard.
Similarly, one can’t help but notice the practicality of the love between the secondary characters love Hyandang and Bangja, compared to the idealistic love of the main protagonists.
And while love rendered an intelligent Byeon blind to his responsibilities to his people, it raised the question among the audience – could Chunhyang have used her influence over the governor to save the starving villagers?
The response varied.
“She couldn’t have. Love doesn’t change people,” said Halima Jibrin. “Exerting her influence on Byeon could easily give him the wrong idea and gotten her into trouble.”
“It represents misogyny, and how men feel they are entitled to women.” said another
Typical of SAC On Screen recorded productions, the camera work on Chunhyang Escape is impressive. The costumes are an innovative – classic-contemporish take on the hanbok; and modern-referenced, witty dialogues of Mi-hyun are accompanied by the comedic timing and commendable singing talents of the actors and actresses.
“I couldn’t follow along at first, but with time I was swept into the story that without the subtitles I understood what was happening,” said Masirichi Bartholomew, a first-time visitor to the center.
A Seoul Arts Center project, SAC On Screen records live, Korean culture theatric performances for global audience consumption. The annual event is on its third run this year at KCCN.
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