Written in 1948 by Kim Young-soo, Hyeolmaek – Bloodline depicts a poverty-stricken time of turmoil in Korean history following the liberation from Japanese occupation. As the fifth production in the series of Re-discovering Modern Korean Dramas, Hyeolmaek – Bloodline is one of the representative plays written in the style of realism about the struggle for survival in Korea and was praised for symbolically representing the older generation making way for the younger generation. This new production is directed by Yun Kwangjin, who has already brought to the stage a faithful rendition of Golden Dragon and King Lear. Stage designer Lee Tae-seop uses his creative talent to magically transform the stage back in time and place allowing the characters played by Jang Du-yi and Lee Ho-seong to deliver this powerful story that remains relevant today. The film adaptation released in 1963 won Best Director at the 14^th Asian Film Festival and the 6th Daejong Film Awards.

“This is not a place for people. This is hell.”

Depicting the misery of families living in dirt shacks,

Bloodline challenges the audience to contemplate the true meaning of family.

In 1947, two years after the liberation from Japanese occupation, three families move into some air-raid shelters all sharing the dream of one day finding a better life away from these pit holes they call home. Seeing a father putting his name plaque on a dirty shack made out of a bomb shelter and yelling at his son to study English harder as the only way to escape from such poverty, audience members might find it odd to see themselves so accurately reflected in these characters from a play written so long ago. Struggling with dire poverty and bleak prospects for the future, the only thing they can come to depend on as they try to run away from their homes are their blood ties, their family.

Synopsis

In a poverty-stricken neighborhood of Seoul in1947, three families are living together in air-raid shelters turned into dirt shacks. An old man, Teolbo, tries to get his son Geo-buk a job on a US army base. Kkangtong, Teolbo’s next door neighbor, makes a living by hammering used cans into pots and basins. Kkangtong’s second wife, Ok-mae, tries to teach, her step-daughter Bok-sun how to sing, so they can send her off to work at a brothel as a gisaeng. Meanwhile, Won-pal lives with his daughter and his sick wife, but is so poor he can’t afford to take her to the hospital. His younger brother Won-chil graduated from college in Japan, but refuses to work saying he wants to become a novelist. Won-pal does not get along with his idealistic brother, and they fight every day. One day Geo-buk and Bok-sun finally decide to run away from home and away from their parents who keep dictating to them how to live their lives. What they all have in common are their dreams of a better life away from the pit holes they are living in and their bloodline, their family ties.