Park Hyon-suk (1926 ~) is a Korean playwright. From the 1950s onward, she has written a number of literary works as one of the first-generation female playwrights in Korea. She has created a unique literary world by digging deep into family matters while presenting those in close connection with the times.
1. Life
Born in 1926 in Jaeryeong, Hwanghae-do province, Korea, Park first became interested in plays in her childhood enjoying the road tours of troupes and playing a role in a church theater [1]. Experiencing the death of her father early and witnessing her mother’s unhappy second marriage, Park began to concentrate deeply on family matters in her works [2].
She graduated from a nursing school in Haeju in 1946 and defected to South Korea. After entering university in Seoul, she joined a college drama club and played a role [3]. She started to write a play in 1950 [4]. An essay titled Eomeoni (어머니 Mother) (1950) was her first published work, and a play titled Hangbyeon (항변 Remonstrance) (1960) was the first play released.
Since her debut, Park has been a pioneering female playwright in Korea. She was Head of Jejackgeukhoe (The Production Theatre Circle) from 1963 to 1971, and President of The Korean Playwright Association from 1979 to 1980. She also served as mediator for the Seoul Family Court for over 30 years from 1965 to 1996.
2. Writing
Park Hyon-suk is a first-generation female dramatist in Korea. She started to write a play since the 1950s when there were almost no female playwrights in the field. She has been known for her distinctive delicate senses and critical perspective on the times [5]. It was around her debut that female playwrights began to appear in the field of playwriting in Korea [6].
Family and Affection
In her plays, Park illustrates families and affairs of the heart in a delicate manner. Her plays often deal with hope for the restoration of a ‘normal’ family order. Gamyeonmudohoe (가면무도회 The Masquerade) (1976), one of her most representative works, conveys the message that what is really needed for married couples is a mutual respect for each other [7].
Family History and Our History
In her plays, Park does not deal with family matters and matters regarding love from a micro perspective. Rather, she tries to reflect numerous historic events, ranging from the Japanese colonial rule, the Korean War, division of the Korean Peninsula, to the April Revolution into the history of a family in her plays. For example, her full-length play, Geu challanhan yusan (그 찬란한 유산 The Brilliant Legacy) (1986) deals with four generations of family history, with an autobiographical main character. The family suffers all kinds of hardships from the Japanese colonial era until the April Revolution, confronting one of the most unfortunate times of the country [8].
Reference
1) Park Hyon-suk, Naui dokbaegeun kkeunnaji anatda (My Monologue is Not Over), Hyehwadang, 1993, p.41
2) Seon-ju Kim, “A Family Ideology in Early Plays of Park Hyon-suk” in Journal of Korean Modern Literature, The Learned Society of Modern Korean Literature, vol. 14, 2003, p.396
3) Park Hyon-suk, Mageun oreuneunde (When the Curtain Rises), Changjosa, 1970, p.30
4) Park Hyon-suk, Naui dokbaegeun kkeunnaji anatda (My Monologue is Not Over), Hyehwadang, 1993, p.67
5) Mi-won Lee, “A Study on Park Hyon-suk’s Plays” in Journal of Korean Theatre Studies Association, Korean Theatre Studies Association, 1998, vol. 11-1, p.132-133
6) [Wikipedia Korea] Park Hyon-suk
https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B0%95%ED%98%84%EC%88%99_(%EA%B7%B9%EC%9E%91%EA%B0%80)
7) Moocheon Dramatic Arts Association, A Study on the Plays of Park Hyon-suk, Kookhak, 2004, p.30
8) Moocheon Dramatic Arts Association, A Study on the Plays of Park Hyon-suk, Kookhak, 2004, p.19-20
