[On Stage] Stories of Our Society Today Reflected in Classic Masterpieces

Interview with Director Kim Hyuntak and Actor Kwak Younghyun of the Play 'Gullivers'
Youth Pressured by the Times, Reflecting Social Issues like the Itaewon Tragedy

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Smartphones, which have become essential daily items, have been found to be addictive for one in four users amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of online video services. According to a smartphone overdependence survey released last year by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the proportion of high-risk smartphone users in South Korea was 24.2%.

Director Kim Hyuntak conceived the idea of a protagonist entering a smartphone while contemplating the issue of smartphone over-immersion. He borrowed the story of Gulliver’s experiences in Lilliput from 18th-century British writer Jonathan Swift’s novel Gulliver’s Travels and developed it into a contemporary life story in the play Gullivers. This work was recognized for its artistic merit by winning the Best Play and Best New Actor awards at the 59th Dong-A Theatre Awards last year. Kim Hyuntak, the play’s director and protagonist, and actor Kwak Younghyun, who won the Best New Actor award, introduced Gullivers as a work that three-dimensionally depicts various issues our society faces, especially the psychology of youth being chased by previous generations, through body and movement. Below is a Q&A with the two.

Theater director Kim Hyuntak and actor Kwak Younghyun. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

- What kind of work is Gullivers?

▲ Kim Hyuntak: I wanted to talk about the smartphone problem. While working on the concept of a protagonist entering a smartphone and becoming an app, I suddenly wondered if a protagonist entering a smartphone would have any meaning for us now. Holding onto that, I continued with the original concept, but then the Itaewon tragedy occurred. With various incidents happening, I thought I shouldn’t stubbornly stick to the story I was preparing. While incorporating contemporary stories, I projected the feeling of us becoming the “Lilliputians,” feeling somewhat out of place, onto Gulliver’s Travels, where Gulliver experiences life in Lilliput, and completed the work by approaching the perspective of the Lilliputians rather than Gulliver.

- It seems difficult to immediately reflect social incidents and accidents in a play.

▲ Kim Hyuntak: It has always been a theme I’ve thought about while doing theater, but I believe there is nothing more empowering for theater than contemporary stories happening right now. The energy of what is happening at this moment?I like reflecting that in theater to give the play strength. It wasn’t planned from the start, but I always try to incorporate current events into the work, and that kind of process has become familiar to me. This approach acts as a catalyst that makes the play more powerful.

- Was it difficult for actors to perform when reflecting current events in a fixed script?

▲ Kwak Younghyun: The director often immediately contemplates current events and finds ways to incorporate them into the work, and our troupe (Seongbuk-dong Pigeon) members have become accustomed to that method. It seems different from other places in terms of work themes and processes, but through the work of considering the actor’s body as a language, I think we have specialized in imagining and realizing on stage. In Gullivers, there were scenes where actors became microphones or lighting devices, and emphasizing body language helped build stamina, making it a very attractive work in many ways.

Theater director Kim Hyuntak and actor Kwak Younghyun. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

- What is the driving force behind creating more than five works a year?

▲ Kim Hyuntak: I cannot endure doing nothing. It’s not that I particularly want to do it, but I cannot bear not doing it, so I start working. When planning a work, I concretize ideas that come to mind and test whether it’s possible to reflect the story during daytime rehearsals while performing. By continuously applying the energy from immediate events to share with the audience, whether I want to or not, I end up producing many works. Usually, after finishing a work, I rest for two to three weeks and then immediately start planning the next one.

- You are also well known for your unique direction focusing on physical transformation.

▲ Kim Hyuntak: From the first time I directed, I started with an empty stage. So, for me, theater was about feeling the poverty of the stage from the beginning. I repeatedly pondered how to solve this situation where only actors are present. Leaving aside theater theory and studies, I connected actors to create blackout effects without lighting and directed them to be visible, mastering actors’ movements. Characters as people are important, but characters can also become objects. The actors who make that possible fascinated me, so I focused on that. For example, actor Kwak Younghyun, who is with us today, is an actor with immeasurable potential. Among the 12 young actors appearing in Gullivers, he played the main role, leading each scene and faithfully and excellently serving as the link that gathers others’ stories and moves to the next scene. I felt he is an actor whose future is unpredictable. (laughs)

Theater director Kim Hyuntak and actor Kwak Younghyun. / Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

- What are the charms and difficulties you felt while acting in theater?

▲ Kwak Younghyun: It has been four years since I joined the troupe, and I find it attractive to gain good experience by feeling the attitude toward theater and the affectionate hearts of the members and director. Even though I majored in acting, I liked theater more than other media. Academically and on stage, watching and performing theater gave me the most thrilling and ecstatic feelings along with pride. Our troupe’s works have excellent directorial imagination, allowing us to break frameworks and broaden our spectrum rather than being picky about works. It is difficult, but I feel it is also a growing pain.

- What kind of work are you preparing as your next project?

▲ Kim Hyuntak: I plan to talk about part-time jobs based on the original work The House of Bernarda Alba by Spanish writer Federico Garc?a Lorca. I am planning a work where the current status of youth part-time jobs and the jobs they do continuously connect on stage. I am also preparing Medea on Media for a New York invited performance this November. I have dyslexia, so I cannot finish reading books, but by quickly absorbing the plot, ending, and various information through the internet, I have become accustomed to connecting these elements. Being poor at reading has allowed me to quickly absorb theater content through different routes and rapidly reflect various real-life stories in works, enabling me to perform frequently, which I am rather grateful for. This deepened thinking has become a sense of mission. I always feel thankful to the troupe members who handle this kind of work well.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.