Critics Name Best 3 Korean Plays of the Year: Sammaegyung, Gulliver: Zoom In-Out, Mukti
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
The Korean Association of Theatre Critics selected its Best 3 plays of the year: the National Theater’s Sammaegyung, Hatangse’s Gulliver: Zoom In-Out, and Dongui’s Mukti. The critics evaluated works staged between Dec 1 last year and Nov 30 this year for artistic excellence and meaningful direction for Korean theatre. Sammaegyung (recreated by Lee Cheol-hee from Ham Se-deok’s script and originally staged in 1939) revisits the play Dongseung through an ageing actor’s lasting identification with his youthful role, exploring memory and artistic self-awareness. Gulliver: Zoom In-Out (adapted by Jeong Seung-jin and Oebada) reimagines Jonathan Swift’s classic as a story of a protagonist who goes to Australia on a working holiday; critics praised its witty rhythm, layered ethical reflections on how we view the Other, and inventive shifts between scale and subjecthood. Mukti (by Kim Yoon-sik), which won the 2024 Byeoksan Arts Playwright Award, dramatizes foreign workers’ lives; reviewers highlighted the playwright’s candid realism, poetic yet dramatic dialogue, and disciplined ensemble acting. (Hatangse: name of a Korean theatre company)
