Wild Boar (Sandoeji)
산돼지
- Author
- Kim U-jin
- Year
- 1926
- Country
- Korea
- Copyright
- Written in 1926; Kim U-jin died the same year and the work is out of copyright. Counted as Korea's first expressionist play.
A young man born to a Donghak rebel is torn between social struggle and private life, and confronts his father's generation's deaths in a dream.
Why it is a classic
It brought expressionist devices, dream scenes and inner monologue, into 1920s Korean theatre, which had been realist throughout. Its axis of ideology versus daily life still maps onto today's youth narratives.
Structure breakdown
- 01Act 1 · Reality
Choe Won-bong is accused over youth-association funds and loses his footing between lover and family. His nickname 'wild boar' names his temperament and his position.
- 02Act 2 · The dream
Feverish, Won-bong dreams. His Donghak-rebel father's death and his mother's ordeal are replayed as visions, and he faces his own origin.
- 03Act 3 · Dawn
Awake, Won-bong faces again what has held him down. The ending offers direction rather than resolution.
What to steal for your own script
- Externalise inner conflict as a dream scene; it becomes drama instead of explanation.
- Place the parents' generation's events as the cause of the present conflict to give the story depth in time.
- Sum a character up in one nickname; the title is the character.
Original excerpt
No excerpt is shown because translation rights may apply. Read the original at the archives below.