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Comparison between the movie and the original play


For those who want more in-depth reviews about King and the Clown, here is a Korean news article about the movie vs. its original play.
(Sorry for my poor English translation in advance)


Joong-ang Daily, November 30th, 2005
reported by Choi Min-woo and Ahn Seong-sik


King Yeonsan(1476~1506) and his concubine Jang Nok-su.

Nobody could live more dramatic life than theirs. Losing his mother in childhood, King Yeonsan brandished his sword to revenge on his mother's murderers. Meanwhile, promoted from a slave to the king's concubine, Jang Nok-su went down in Korean history as one of the most notorious femme fatal. Their dramatic life story has been made movie or TV drama over and over again.

However, what if itinerant jesters are added to the story? What if they mock the king and his ministers in the palace? What if the story contains slight homosexual undertones?

The theatrical play titled "Yi" reveals such a sensational story. It was first performed 5 years ago (in 2000), which threw the Korean theatrical world into an uproar and swept almost every major theatrical awards in 2001. This year (2005), renewed "Yi" will be performed at "Theatre YONG" in the National Museum of Korea from December 6th, 2005.

Beside the theatrical play "Yi", its movie version "King and the Clown" will also be on screen in theatres from December 29th, 2005. The Joong-ang Daily interviewed the two directors: Professor Kim Tae-wung (40) who wrote and directed play "Yi" and Director Yi Jun-ik (46) who produced and directed movie "King and the Clown". They answered about what they think about jest, satire, and history as well as what the difference between play and movie is.

# A jester challenging the king

"Yi" means an honorific title used by a king to call his high-ranking liege. During the reign of King Yeonsan, there lived two itinerant jesters named Gong-gil and Jang-saeng. With excellent humor and satire, the two male jesters were employed by the tyrannical King Yeonsan. In particular, Gong-gil, the male jester with feminine look and postures, got to be loved by the king and was promoted to a high ranking official. As a result, the king's concubine Jang Nok-su, blinded by jealousy, plotted to kill Gong-gil.

What is true in the provocative story? Professor Kim Tae-wung who wrote and directed the play "Yi" answered. "Gong-gil is real." The Royal Records of the Chosun Dynasty says as follows : Jester Gong-gil mocked the king in a farce by quoting a passage from the Analects of Confucius. "The king is not like a king, the ministers are not like ministers, and this grain is not like grain. so I can't eat food." As a result, he was flogged and sent into exile. Real Gong-gil is supposed to be a brave and outspoken man. However, it is not true that Gong-gil was the king's lover. "Historically, homosexuality was quite common among "Namsadang" (= itinerant jesters) during Chosun period. Based on the fact and King Yeon-san's indiscriminate sexual behaviors in real history, I created the fictitious same-sex relationships between the king and Gong-gil " Professor Kim Tae-wung said.

On the contrary, movie "King and the Clown" focuses on another jester named Jang-saeng who is a fictitious character. "Jest and satire that Korean traditional jesters had are the counterparts of humor and wit that European jesters had. Korean jesters were good at pithy satire on the ruling class. To emphasize their high spirit of satire, I thought it is necessary to focus on Jang-saeng who walks alone independently rather than Gong-gil who belongs to the king." said Director Yi Jun-ik. He added his provocative interpretation like this. " Jang-saeng stands up against King Yeonsan surrounding Gong-gil. He can speak anything he wants without hesitation when he walks on a tightrope, even though he is a lowly jester. At the moment, he becomes the king of another world."

# Beyond jests and acrobatics

Contrary to its serious theme, play "Yi" is very comical and makes its audience laugh into convulsions with its traditional play within play called "Sohakjihi" which originated from jester's farce during Koryo period (918~1392). "Sohakjihi" was intended to satire bribery or sex scandal related to noble class, and it helps kings who were isolated from the outside world to grasp the domestic situation indirectly. It was a sort of satirical comedy.

On the contrary, movie "King and the Clown" focuses on "tightrope dancing" rather than farce. A stage in theatre can be filled just with actors' words, but a movie screen requires more dynamic actions to draw audience's attention. A play is performed in a closed space while a movie is evolved in an open space. That's the distinguished difference between the play and the movie. "The dizzying tightrope dancing symbolizes the unexpected fate of the jesters." said Director Yi Jun-ik.

Both the play and the movie, based on the same work, are raising questions about what 'jester' or 'jest' means. What do the two directors think about it?

Professor Kim said "Jesters are able to sing an optimistic song even in various hardships. Their jest contains enough brightness to push the life's shadow aside."

However, Director Yi said cynically. "Jest is a kind of power. Gathering a crowd generates the power. In the past, politics and economy played the role, but now jest (entertainment) is doing the same thing."

Which jester will make the audiences rave more?


* The original Korean news article came from...
http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=025&article_id=0000585085&section_id=103&menu_id=103


* Look at these video clips to know about the death of King Yeonsan's mother.
Korean historical drama "Jewel in the Palace(aka. The Great Jang-geum) with English subtitles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIFEQtIGJfE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTlxiSwSvLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBHyhPCZHy4

* Play "Yi" (2003) video clips (No subtitles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQMy7UX5dJQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se-454v58Es

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Thanks for the translation, very informative read!
I watch the documentaries on the deluxe DVD and as there's no subtitle, I couldn't understand what they talked about, but the stage performance footages of Yi themselves gave a pretty good idea.

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thank you for posting the translated text.
v.interesting .

links are not working anymore though.

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