이 화창한 아침에
On This Bright Morning (이 화창한 아침에) is a Korean original musical by the National Music Troupe of Korea that brought contemporary rural modernization and social satire into large-scale Korean music theatre. Mixing folk idioms, rock-inflected writing, and ensemble spectacle, it marks an ambitious expansion of Korean musical form in the mid-1970s.
SYNOPSIS
(Partial Synopsis)
Set in the rural village of Dusan-ri, the musical unfolds where farmers and those embracing machines and modernization confront one another, turning everyday tensions into comic, social, and musical drama.
At the center are conflicts between traditional agrarian rhythms and mechanized change, expressed through village characters whose disagreements reveal broader questions of progress, labor, and communal life. Romantic and comic subplots appear to intertwine with these social tensions.
Structured in seven scenes and reportedly featuring over thirty musical numbers, the work appears to balance social allegory, popular entertainment, and large-scale ensemble writing, culminating in a collective vision shaped as much by communal energy as by individual plot.
제작 노트
Premiered in 1975 at the National Theater Grand Theater, On This Bright Morning is notable as one of the earliest Korean original musicals to foreground modernization and contemporary rural social conflict rather than folklore or historical legend.
The production is also significant musically. Composer Choi Chang-kwon explicitly described incorporating rock-influenced idioms into roughly half the score, making the work an intriguing experiment in integrating contemporary popular music language into Korean musical theatre.
The accompanying symposium article “What Is Musical to Us?” linked to this production further suggests the work functioned not only as a performance but as a site of active reflection on what a Korean musical might be.
REFERENCES
Synopsis Sources
JoongAng Ilbo Article
https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/1405722
Nomadbook Program Leaflet Listing
https://www.nomadbook.co.kr/shop/shopdetail.html?branduid=102053
SPACE Symposium Article
https://vmspace.com/eng/archive/archive_view.html?base_seq=MjU4NTk=&base_numbering=OTc=&s_key=&s_start_numbering=&s_end_numbering=
Articles & Reviews
JoongAng Ilbo Article
https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/1405722
SPACE Symposium Article
https://vmspace.com/eng/archive/archive_view.html?base_seq=MjU4NTk=&base_numbering=OTc=&s_key=&s_start_numbering=&s_end_numbering=
Culture Portal Entry on Lee Geun-sam
https://www.culture.go.kr/portal/cltKnw/artCont/view.do?menuNo=200022&cdVal=A&knwldgSn=7720&knwldgClsfCd=A122&knwldgClsfSubCd=
KMDb Profile of Choi Chang-kwon


