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Words and writings that represent the voice of the age may be submerged in deep darkness, but they inevitably return with the people of the age on their wings, delivering strength and solace to those who live in the present moment.

The National Asian Culture Center (ACC) Archive Temporary Exhibition Park Jo-yeol and Soldier’s Mementos

Playwright Park Jo-yeol (1930–2016) published 10 plays, starting with 1963’s “Tourist Zone.” His plays were praised for their structure, themes, and refined and delicate sense of humor, and they have contributed greatly to the development of Korean theater. He also became an important figure in the struggle for freedom of expression by tackling the problem of the precensorship of theater scripts.

1974

One of Park Jo-yeol’s most famous works, “Soldier’s Mementos,” was released in 1974. It is the story of Oh Jang-gun, an innocent young man who had only known “life as going out to the fields under the stars and coming back home under the moon,” being conscripted into the military and the events that unfold thereafter. It is a delicate representation of human beings being made into disposable components in faceless organizations and the deep-cutting yearning to see one’s family again, realized through the imagination and experimental techniques of Park Jo-yeol.

First Publication of “Soldier’s Mementos,” 1974

Despite being named “Jang-gun” (general), “Oh Jang-gun” does not wear any stars on his uniform: it is a reflection of Korean parents calling their sons “generals” with the hopes that they will be as healthy and powerful as generals in the future.

1975

“Soldier’s Mementos” was originally planned to premiere in 1975, but it was prohibited. The part that resulted in its prohibition is the scene where Private Oh Jang-gun sings while using the commander’s toilet in the military, as it was deemed to portray the authority of the commander in a disrespectful manner.

1988

After 14 years of prohibition, “Soldier’s Mementos” finally premiered with the Michu Theater Company in 1988, having passed the review process only in 1987.

Premiere Performance of “Soldier’s Mementos,” Direction by Son Jinchaek, Michu Theater Company, Arko Arts Theater, 1988, Asia Culture Museum Archive

Later on, “Soldier’s Mementos” will go on to win the Grand Prize, Best Play, Best Direction, and Best Playwriting awards at the Baeksang Arts Awards, becoming a landmark work for contemporary theater in Korea.

2024

On December 11, half a century after its creation, “Soldier’s Mementos” was revived with the voices of young actors from the National Theater Company of Korea.

Soldier’s Mementos Reading Session, National Theater Company of Korea & National Asian Culture Center, 2024.

Just before Oh Jang-gun meets his death, he stammers out his last words in sorrow: “Mom, Kkot-bun, Meok-soe …” and a sharp report of a gun is heard. The actor’s head drops, and sobs could be heard from the 200 audience members who had filled the space, completely captivated by the piece. With the images of the past haunting the present, the audience members met up with the figures from the past and gained new strength.¹

Records from Park Jo-yeol. After they were donated in 2014, the records were digitized and preserved for more than a decade through multiple discussions with Park before his death.

Even in darkness, language is preserved as a record somewhere, enduring and gaining strength anew. In her Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Han Kang said that “(i)n the darkest night, there is language that asks what we are made of, that insists on imagining into the first person perspectives of the people and living beings that inhabit this planet,” that the “threads of language” flow to us and help us with our present. ²

ACC Archive Special Exhibition “Park Jo-yeol and Soldier’s Mementos”
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This exhibition was put together with the help of the Korea Performing Art Archives Network (K-PAAN), including the National Theater Company of Korea and the ARKO Arts Archive. ARKO Arts Archive provided the censorship copy and the oral history records of the “Soldier’s Mementos,” while the National Theater Company of Korea provided a reading session of the “Soldier’s Mementos.”

Asia Culture Museum Archive Collection Park Jo-yeol’s Theatrical Scripts and Performance Records
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