Incheon has brought the history of its open port, the birthplace of Korea’s emigration story, to the stage as a participatory play in which the audience experiences it firsthand. The Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Chan-dae) announced that it will present the audience-participation play 「Setting Sail: The Journey of Emigrants You Depart With」 for adults over three days, from September 11 to 13, at ‘Ieum 1977,’ a modern architectural heritage site.
 [코리안투데이] Promotional image for the audience-participation play 「Setting Sail」, held at the modern architectural heritage site ‘Ieum 1977’ © 장형임 기자 |
Unlike conventional stage-and-seat performances, this play is designed so that the audience becomes the driving force of the story, moving through the space and following the emigrants’ journey. The key idea is not merely to see history with one’s eyes but to experience it with one’s whole body.
The central setting of the performance is the fictional ship ‘Lucid Dream.’ As passengers, audience members set out on the voyage guided by a crew member named ‘Vador,’ and one by one they meet the figures of an era who had to cross the ocean. Among them are the henequen workers who left for Mexico, the picture brides who went to Hawaii, and the nurses dispatched to hospitals in Germany — people who chose emigration for widely different reasons. The play is structured so that the audience sits face to face with them, shares tea and conversation, and empathizes with the sorrows and dreams of that time.
The architectural sense of space at ‘Ieum 1977,’ the site of the performance, is woven directly into the staging to bring out the distinctive sense of place and historical depth of the open port. Added to this are various participatory elements — taking part in a setting-sail performance, introducing oneself through interaction with the actors, and joining in song and dance on site — that heighten the sense of immersion.
The performance will be held a total of ten times, from Friday, September 11, through Sunday, September 13. On Friday and Sunday it will run at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m., and on Saturday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. Each session lasts about 70 minutes. To ensure a deep sense of immersion, attendance is limited to 12 people per session, recruiting a total of 120 adults over the three days on a first-come, first-served basis.
Applications will be accepted through online pre-registration starting at 9 a.m. on August 28. Details on how to apply and further information can be found on the official Instagram account of ‘1883 Gaehang Salon.’
Incheon is the gateway city where modern emigration began, and the significance of this play lies in allowing citizens to confront that history as their own experience. Koo Hye-rim, Director-General of the city’s Old Downtown Innovation Bureau, said, ‘I hope that through this play, citizens will follow in the footsteps of the emigrants and gain a fresh awareness that Incheon was the historical starting point of Korea’s emigration, and that it will become an occasion to experience the charm of the open port in the most familiar and profound way.’
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화
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