The recent TV series Jeong Nyeon has revived public interest in gukgeuk, a nearly forgotten Korean theatrical tradition where women played male roles. Set in the 1950s, the series portrays the lives of gukgeuk performers, highlighting their struggles and artistic contributions within the rigid, tradition-bound society of Korea’s post-war era.
Gukgeuk, in the simplest terms, is a musical performed in a traditional Korean singing style that requires years of training to master. Known for its sombre tone, this vocal art form has deep roots in Korean culture, with Koreans having enjoyed similar styles through pansori—a form of storytelling performed by a solo singer, historically dominated by men—for centuries. Then, a group of female pansori singers splintered off from the male-dominated pansori tradition and established their own theater group. They created a new performance genre, now known as gukgeuk, which adapted popular folktales and mythologies into musical stories performed by an all-female cast. This innovation emerged just before the outbreak of the Korean War, reached its peak popularity in the 1950s, and eventually faded quietly into memory.
Popular Repertories of Gukgeuk
The most popular gukgeuk repertories included tragedies like Ja Myung Go, the tale of a self-beating drum. As depicted in episode six of Jeong Nyeon, Ja Myung Go tells the story of a princess from the Nang Nang Kingdom who betrays her country for her love, Prince Hodong, from Nang Nang’s enemy, Goguryeo. Nang Nang is protected by a magical drum that beats itself to warn of invasions, but, hopelessly in love with Hodong, the princess destroys the drum, leading to the fall of her kingdom and her untimely death.
The elaborate staging of the drum’s destruction, accompanied by emotionally charged music, was a centerpiece of the performance. Female audiences were captivated by this scene, emotionally engaging with the princess’s fatal decision to sacrifice everything for love. It was melodrama on a mythic scale, and the post-war audience loved it.
Jeong Nyeon Is Not a Drama of Nostalgia
The legends of gukgeuk from the 1950s occasionally appeared on TV variety shows even into the 1970s. When they did, they performed highlights from their stage productions, such as the iconic scene of the Nang Nang princess, who, torn between love for her kingdom and Prince Hodong, finally destroys the self-beating drum. This emotional peak remained captivating, even for TV audiences who relished its dramatic intensity.
In the TV series Jeong Nyeon, however, the protagonist, a struggling gukgeuk actor, confronts a reality far removed from the world of melodrama where love conquers all. She faces her mother’s desperate plea for her to abandon her dream of becoming a gukgeuk performer. While this could have unfolded as a melodramatic conflict between a controlling mother and a daughter with unfulfilled aspirations, Jeong Nyeon takes a different approach. The protagonist decisively denies her mother’s request, risking the severing of their bond.
It is a tearful moment when Jeong Nyeon leaves her family home to pursue a life of her own. Yet, the scene avoids excessive sentimentality, refraining from framing her actions as mere rebellion or the ultimate sacrifice of family ties. If the series carries no sense of nostalgia, it is perhaps because it refrains from looking at the past with longing eyes. Instead, it offers a clear-eyed portrayal of ambition, struggle, and sacrifice.
The Story Fills the Gap of the Untold
Jeong Nyeon seeks to fill the gap in the untold stories of women surrounding gukgeuk in Korea’s post-war era. Jeong Nyeon, the protagonist, briefly tries her luck as a pop singer on TV but quickly quits after realizing she is little more than a puppet controlled by a male producer and his superiors, who hold an almost autocratic grip over the shows. On the gukgeuk stage, however, she feels freer as an artist.
What was performed on stage and the reality of the female cast of gukgeuk were strikingly different. The series portrays the struggles of women whose lives are dominated by family and men, following Jeong-nyeon’s long journey to overcome these obstacles and become a free and independent person. In an interview with a cable channel, the author of the original story revealed that one of the readers’ favorite lines refers to gukgeuk and society at large as a kind of role play. In gukgeuk, women play passive and obedient roles, much as they do in society.
The true pleasure of Jeong Nyeon lies not in the gukgeuk performances themselves but in the protagonist’s journey to break free from societal stereotypes and discover her true self.
Click for the website of the series, Jeong Nyeon: The Star is Born