O Taeseok (Korean: 오태석; 11 October 1940 – 28 November 2022) was a South Korean playwright, theatre director and translator.^[1]

Life

O Taeseok was born on 11 October 1940, in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea.^[2] O Taeseok was ten years old when the Korean War began, causing his childhood to be torn apart. His father, a politician, was kidnapped, causing O Taeseok, along with his grandmother, to become a refugee, where he witnessed countless deaths.^[3] O Taeseok later received a degree in philosophy from Yonsei University in 1963, and immediately threw himself into writing and directing.^[4]

O died on 28 November 2022, at the age of 82.^[5]

Work

O Taeseok is most well-known as a theatre director and playwright who is extremely adept at portraying Korean life and state of mind. O Taeseok's plays have many elements in common with traditional Korean plays. On stage the characters of his plays do not carry on static, realistic conversations, but rather engage in vibrant song and dance or wear animal masks while dashing about on stage; exaggerated movements and make-up are also frequently used. Despite the loud, raucous atmosphere on stage, O Taeseok's work depicts the darkness of pain and the shadows of death. The story behind this lies in his childhood memories.^[6]

O Taeseok made his formal literary debut with his play Wedding Dress (웨딩드레스), which was recognized at the 1967 New Years Literary Arts Competition sponsored by the Chosun Ilbo, and Change of Season (환절기), which won a prize in a 1968 open playwriting competition co-sponsored by the National Theatre and the Kyunghyang Daily News. In 1968 and 1969 his plays Change of Season (환절기), Judas, Before the Rooster Crows (유다여, 닭이 울기 전에), Outing (교행), and Self-Righting Doll on Roller Skates (롤러스케이트를 타는 오뚜기) were performed in several avant-garde theatres. He next took up residence with the Dongnang Repertory Company (동랑 레퍼토리 극단), where he directed Lubeu (루브), and continued to direct and write.^[7]

Works in translation

• Warum das Mädchen Sim-Tscheong zweimal ins Wasser ging (심청이는 왜 인당수에 몸을 두 번 던졌는가)
• The Metacultural Theater of Oh T'ae-Sŏk: Five Plays from the Korean Avant-Garde (University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1999), translated by Kim Ah-Jeong and Robert B. Graves ISBN 978-0-824-82099-2

Works in Korean (partial)

Awards

• Hankook Ilbo Theater and Film Prize (한국연극화상) in 1973 (for Grass Burial)
• Seoul Theatre Festival Grand Prize (연극제 대상) in 1987

References