The purpose of this study was to summarise Cha Pumsok's realism theories represented in his major treatises and see how they were reflected in this early dramas of the early 1950s.
Cha's realism does not seek a mere representation of the realities of...
The purpose of this study was to summarise Cha Pumsok's realism theories represented in his major treatises and see how they were reflected in this early dramas of the early 1950s.
Cha's realism does not seek a mere representation of the realities of the world, which was one of the mainstream practices of the realism in the 19th century. He does not resort to either critical realism nor socialist one. Rather, his realism is close to that of D. Grant's conscious realism. Cha proposes two basic propositions which underline the realism dramas: 'objective representation of facts based on historic consciousness' and 'establishing stereotype of human existence' He argues that the essence of realism is stablished when the author understands various ways of human existence in the real world and creates the stereotype of human existence while acknowledging the relevance of their respective lives.
This realistic position of playwriting is reflected to some extent in his early dramas of 1950s. The reason why it is not reflected to a great degree is because it was difficult to see the indispensable relation between realistic situation and human conditions. As a result, it can be argued that most of Cha's dramas in the 1950s could not overcome the mere representation of realities. This limitation of the 1950s could not overcome the mere representation of realities. This limitation of the 1950s seemed to have been overcome in 'San-bool'(flames of fire on the mountain) and other works that were written in the 1960s.
These works of 60s have made it possible for Korean realism literature to develop a step further. Thus, it can be argued that Cha has marked a great progress in the history of Korean playwriting.