Full Description
Myung-Wha Kim is an acclaimed playwright, critic, and director. In this book, the first English language play collection by a female Korean playwright, her individual style and powerful drama is captured across different performance texts.
This collection contains four plays by contemporary Korean playwright Myung-Wha Kim, translated into English by Walter Byongsok Chon, in collaboration with English language consultant Anne M. Hamilton.
Birds Don't Use a Crosswalk (1998) explores the role of theatre in society, wherein the protagonist is a director who returns to his college to helm a production. It navigates the generational conflicts in Korean society between the 1980s and the end of the century, which is still reflected in the present day. Oedipus: The Fate of the Story (2000) is a reimagination of Sophocles' Oedipus and explores the political and personal affairs that might have occurred behind closed doors.
Sound of the Moon (2006), set in the late sixth century during Korea's Three Kingdoms period, portrays the romance between an aspiring gayageum musician and the Princess of Silla, which creates intrigues with diplomatic, cultural, and socio-political implications. And The Wind's Desire (2007) tells the story of a middle-aged television writer in crisis in modern-day Seoul, who financially supports her family abroad and starts an affair with a young photographer, which reignites her passion for life.
While these plays reflect specific Korean sentiments and sensibilities, these stories have international appeal. The questions they pose about art, love, family, politics, and society transcend cultural and national boundaries.
Contents
Acknowledgments
About Sound of the Moon and Other Plays by Myung-Wha Kim
Notes about the Content and Formatting of the Translation
English Bios of Original Author (Myung-Wha Kim), Translator (Walter Byongsok Chon), English Language Translation Consultant (Anne M. Hamilton)
Completed Translated Work
Birds Don't Use a Crosswalk
Oedipus: The Fate of the Story
Sound of the Moon
The Wind's Desire
Notes
References
