German-based opera director Yona Kim has created a provocative reimagining of the beloved Korean folktale "Shim Cheong," transforming the traditional story of filial devotion into what she calls "a requiem for sacrificed daughters." Her production, "Pansori Theater Shim Cheong," premiered on August 13 in Jeonju to both standing ovations and controversy, with approximately 70 audience members walking out during the performance.
The original Korean folktale tells the story of Shim Cheong, known as "hyonyeo" (filial daughter), who sells herself to sailors as a human sacrifice to calm the sea. The payment in rice was to be offered to Buddha so her blind father might regain his sight. In the traditional version, the Dragon King of the Sea, moved by her devotion, saves her and sends her back to the surface in a lotus blossom. A king discovers and marries her, and at their royal banquet, she reunites with her father, whose sight is miraculously restored. This tale is one of only five surviving pansori epics and has been retold countless times on stage and screen for centuries.
Kim's radical reinterpretation strips away all fantasy and romance from the classic story. The production, co-produced by the National Changgeuk Company of Korea and the Jeonju International Sori Festival, took three years to complete at a cost of 1 billion won ($718,900). The acclaimed director, who serves as resident director of Germany's Mannheim National Theatre, both adapted the text and directed the piece, bringing several of her longtime European collaborators to join the creative team.
From the very beginning, Kim's version shatters fairy-tale expectations. Before the curtain even rises, approximately 60 young girls rush to the stage and then run outside screaming—a jarring prelude that immediately signals the production's bold departure from tradition. The action then shifts to a modern setting complete with televisions and refrigerators, abandoning the historical Korean backdrop entirely.
Gone is the passive, obedient heroine of tradition. Kim's Shim Cheong actively resists her fate, grabbing her sleeping father by the throat and writhing in anguish at the sacrifices he has forced upon her. This version portrays her not just as a dutiful daughter, but as representing all daughters compelled into sacrifice and the countless victims of societal violence. Kim draws parallels to the doomed daughters of Greek tragedy—Electra, Antigone, and Cassandra.
The characters undergo dramatic reinterpretation under Kim's direction. The father, traditionally portrayed as a pitiable blind man, is revealed as selfish and abusive, more concerned with his mistress than his child. In one shocking scene that makes the audience gasp, he hurls aside the baby in his arms. Madame Bbaengdeok, who delivers Shim to a high official's household where she faces exploitation, transforms from what might have been a comic villain into a predatory figure.
Remarkably, the pansori lyrics remain exactly the same as the traditional version. However, through Kim's staging and the actors' performances, the familiar words take on entirely new meanings within different contexts. "I see it as my task to change the context of the story," Kim explained. "While preserving the emotional intensity of the music, I placed those moments in unfamiliar settings."
The most significant change in Kim's adaptation is the complete removal of the fantasy and romance that traditionally rewards Shim's suffering. There is no miraculous rescue, no transformation into a queen, and no happy ending. Kim believes these fantastical elements in the original tale stem from collective guilt over the girl's sacrifice. "This work is a requiem for the countless unnamed victims, especially daughters, who died in silence," she stated. "It is because of all these Shim Cheongs that we can undertake a project like this in the 21st century."
Instead of following the traditional moralistic structure where everyone finds redemption through Shim's sacrifice, Kim's adaptation focuses on the individual flaws and deficiencies of each character. "The blind father is consumed by self-pity; Shim Cheong is driven by blind filial devotion; and Madame Bbaengdeok is blinded by greed," Kim explained. "I wanted to pose the question: Aren't we all, in some way, blinded by something?"
The production features an impressive cast of 157 performers, including dancers, child actors, and a chorus. Live cameras capture performers' expressions in real time, projecting them onto screens in cinematic fashion. The staging incorporates metaphors and symbols using visual language reminiscent of thriller and horror films, creating an atmosphere far removed from traditional pansori presentations.
While the premiere generated significant controversy among traditional gugak masters and pansori enthusiasts who expressed bewilderment at this new interpretation of the beloved "filial daughter," it also received enthusiastic support from other audience members. The production will run from Wednesday through Sunday at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul, with English subtitles available on screens positioned on both sides of the stage for international audiences.
