The strange world of Korean theater

This past weekend I had the wonderful experience of viewing Korean theater. I met up with friends I made during training and we all went to Daehangno which is the theater district of Seoul. While walking around and exploring our new surrounding we found a small ticketing booth in front of a theater and informed there is a "funny show" (comedic play) at 7 o'clock. From the poster and what was told to us about the play we figured it looked like some sort of romantic comedy that was dealing with some sort of crime driving the plot taking place in Paris.



Oh how presently wrong we were. It was comedic but funny in the way that Asian television programs are funny. Very eccentric, animated and oh so strange. While they couldn't get to strange as I think the original play is French they definitely added some Korean flavor to the show.

Starting with the theater itself, it was a tiny black box theater that was really just the stage (it was the set of a living room in an apt) and they decided to cram 3 "rows" of seating right in front of it with another 3 "rows" on top like a bunk bed. I say "rows as they were probably 6 inches deep and if I sat up straight my head was almost hitting the level above me.







The play was in Korean so I had the fun opportunity to make up my own dialogue of what was going on but I feel as if I was still able to follow the plot of the play from all of the action and expressions. It was not a romantic comedy it was more of a plot twisting thriller. Actually reminded me of some Hitchcock films. A woman is married to an abusive controlling husband so she decides to get back at him with their maid. They derive a plan to kill the husband and make a bunch of money doing so (I think by selling the Picasso painting they had in the apt). The maid new a person that looked like the husband only was he was a dork. They train him to act and dress like her husband so they can falsify some documents for a very flamboyantly gay transvestite friend of the husbands. There are hiccups along the way, the husband catches on but is killed. Not stopping there the maid turns on everyone to take all of the money "killing the tranny in the process" but we later find out that it was all a big scam on the wife by the maid, impostor, and tranny (he wasn't really dead). The plot twists again and it is revealed that the wife is actually an undercover police officer working the case to bust these three individuals.

If that wasn't strange enough the play would turn pitch black in between acts and some sort of techno music would come on (I guess to portray the mood of was was to happen). The selection was fantastic, I heard a song from the Blade soundtrack, some techno club beats, and they ended with Du Hast playing. They techno beat would also come on anytime there was a fight or gun struggle as well as the lights go out and the strobe lights come on.

It was something that I really enjoyed and I know I will never forget. Sorry if I ruined the plot for whoever will be traveling to Seoul anytime soon and wanted to see this show but the experience is much better.

Oh and I forgot to mention, rock paper scissors is huge here everyone plays it to decide something but it is called rock scissor paper and they they don't say shoot just rick scissor paper. They also play in large numbered groups which I still haven't really figured out how it works although it has been explained to me. Anyway they started of the show with a game of rock scissor paper comprised of all of the audience competing against each other for the prize they were giving away. (What looked like some book and CD/DVD of sorts I think).