Yi Kwang-su’s Gyuhan (Sorrows of the Inner Room): Korea’s First Modern Play?

Abstract:Scholarly enquiry into the formation of modern drama on the Korean peninsula has given way to vibrant debate over the years. The enigma of the inception of modern drama continues to elicit diverging opinions regarding the “first” modern Korean play. In 1916, writer, activist, and journalist Yi Kwang-su published his highly influential critical work “Munhak iran hao” (What is Literature?) whereby he stood out as an early figure to preach his views of drama as a modern literary genre, underscoring the vital role of theatre as a tool for modern progress with the potential to be more influential than the novel. Gyuhan (Sorrows of the Inner Room) was published the following year and the play can be interpreted as Yi’s attempt to put his theory into practice. Despite Yi’s prestige as an architect of Korea’s modern literary world, Sorrows of the Inner Room remains obscure beyond Korean-speaking scholarship of drama. This introduction seeks to explore the play’s modern significance while also providing the first full translation in English to bring Yi’s work to a new audience.