A War Story Observed from Outside War

An intricate and dense narrative unfolds various times surrounding the huge monster called war. Just like a monsoon that turns constant winds into heavy rainfall pouring in all directions, broken fragments are laid out sometimes calmly and sometimes roughly. The moment we face the reality that has become infiltrated and festered, the story of an unfinished war begins. “What should I do then? How can I find a way out?”

[Changzak Gonggam: Writers] Writer No.1 Lee So-yeon’s Monsoon

Lee So-yeon, a playwright known for her delicate and stereoscopic portraits of diverse characters, has created a war story as part of this year’s Changzak Gonggam: Writers program. Lee made her literary debut in 2018 by winning the Hankook Ilbo New Writer’s Contest. In partnership with director Jin Hae-jeong, who has been selected for the Doosan Art Center DAC Artist program, she invites us on a desperate journey to find answers in a world of multiple layers overlapping under the keyword of “war.” In doing so, the playwright poses an important question: “Is war really a top-down operation?”

SYNOPSIS

A native of warring Taat, Naisy lives with Chammi, an employee at a weapons company, and her young son, Gul. Every night, Naisy tells the little boy stories of a monster who likes to take a walk. Then, she makes precarious phone calls every three hours to her family running a restaurant in Taat.

In preparation for her graduation exhibition, Saebyeok, a media art graduate student, starts interviewing people involved in the war in order to figure out how to express the theme of war. However, she becomes continually baffled by Isaac, a photojournalist from another warring country, and Kowshikozi, an exchange student from Taat.

Leo, who works in a kindergarten, and Moon, a choreographer from Taat, have been together for many years. For the upcoming Queer Festival, they decide to create a two-hander that reflects reality. They rehearse time and again in front of their friend Holkey, but keep hitting a dead end with regards to how to convey their lives.

While these characters exist, seemingly directionless breezes blow from all corners of the stage.

Written by Lee So-yeon

Lee So-yeon made her literary debut in 2018 by winning the Hankook Ilbo New Writer’s Contest with her work Matryoshka. Driven by her compassion and curiosity towards humans, she excels in delicately and stereoscopically portraying various characters. Her superb writing skills have been recognized by such awards and achievements as the 2020 ARKO Literary Creation Fund, and the Performing Arts Creation Playwriting Contest. Lee continues to explore human affairs surrounding boundaries, love, adventure, and anxiety. Written for this year’s Changzak Gonggam: Writers, her new play, Monsoon, sheds light on various characters living in a fictional country during wartime.

Major Works

Matryoshka, When Yesterday’s You Cross Me, Writing a Play for a Playwriting Award, Could a Parenthesis between Parentheses Become a Parenthesis, and Audio Play: Listening to Parentheses

Achievements

2020 ARKO Literary Creation Fund

2020, 2022 Performing Arts Creation Playwriting Contest

2020 Art Change-up “Notable Online Media Artwork” (Audio Play: Listening to Parentheses)

2020 Art Changeup Selected as ‘Notable Work of Online Media Art’

2018 Hankook Ilbo New Writer’s Contest (Matryoshka)

Directed by Jin Hae-jeong

In her directorial work, Jin Hae-jeong examines the lives of minorities who remain on the periphery of society. As evident in Rotterdam and Queer Reading Theater, she is interested in conveying the voices of social minorities through delicate, honest, and sometimes humorous depictions of their lives.

Major Works

The Welkin, Rotterdam, A Scenery with You in It, Queer Reading Theater

Achievements

2016 Member of the Creative Group Project IA

2020 The Korean Theatre Review Top 7 Productions (Rotterdam)