introduction

In 2000 the East West Players (ewp) in Los Angeles produced the Korean American playwright Euijoon Kim’s new play My Tired Broke Ass Pontificat- ing Slapstick Funk, which represented a new direction for the ewp. As the pre- mier Asian American theater company, ewp was known for its long associa- tion with Little Tokyo, a Japanese American community in Los Angeles, and its loyal subscribers consisted mostly of older Japanese Americans. With Kim’s provocative play, the company aimed to reach out to new audiences, especially those of the younger generation in Koreatown across the city. The theater critic Julio Martinez described the play as representative of “a vibrant but embryonic culture struggling to establish its own identity out of the myriad influences that are constantly bombarding it.”1 At the time, I was in Los Angeles to attend a panel discussion on the future of Asian American drama and to interview Asian American theater artists. I also had a personal investment in Kim’s play. As a Korean American of the gen- eration Kim writes about, I wanted to see what he had to say about the direc- tion of the emerging culture cultivated in Koreatown. I grew up in Southern California and recognized his characters and their issues. Kim was also a pan- elist, and I wanted to hear what he had to say. Led by Alice Tuan, the panel included more established writers such as Sandra Tsing Loh and Chay Yew. As the youngest member of the panel, Kim was expected to speak for the new generation of Asian Americans in the twenty- first century and to articulate the significance of his play. Instead, Kim took a nap onstage, or at least made it look as if he was. While the other writers on the panel spoke, he closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and tilted his head while sit- ting in his chair. The audience initially laughed at this, but we soon realized he was not going to speak at all. Recalling the event, Kim says that he was annoyed with the questions he received and did not care for the “flowery, poetic Asian American” topic.2 Bored, angry, and annoyed, Kim remained onstage as a non- xii introduction Kim to Frank Chin, the iconic Chinese American playwright who debuted in debuted who playwright American Chinese iconic the Chin, Frank to Kim Euijoon Many compared signified. moment the what about thought and Kim tradition, and the rebel was literally onstage. As I sat in the audience, I watched had least, gotten the its ewp wish: the company wanted to rebel against its own at sense, onediscussion. In the throughout remained who panelists fellow his and audience polite the to contrast stark in performancewas His participant. Latin America. It is not meant to replace ethnic or cultural groupings such groupings cultural or ethnic replace to meant not is It America. Latin and Canada, States,United the in descendants includetheir and immigrants to Korean broadly used is Americas” the in diaspora “Korean phrase The ameriCaS the in DiaSpora Korean Americas. chosen to represent common motifs in plays about the Korean diaspora in the thestrate diversityvast playwriting,of styles weretheyalso and themes ofbut sionalproductions or workshops. The plays carefully were to demon- selected profes- received have all and 1990s, late the since years ten about span plays from Canada, one from Chile, and five fromthe United States. The dates ofthe one one- include full- writers two the five and are acts; plays Included length the Korean diaspora, written by Korean diasporic playwrights in the Americas. writers and their plays. The collection features seven contemporary plays about and the purpose of this collection is to capture the quality and dynamism of the no longer silent and displaced as playwrights. Rather, they command attention, the stagecrystallize the and to dramatize who used worldtheyknow. They are writers talented of number growing a attracted had theater years, ten within had been written, and playwriting was not a common choice of profession. But Americas the in diaspora Korean the about plays of handful a only lennium, mil- new the of dawnsome At the collection. playwrights,this in representeddiasporicare plays Korean whose of the call I what of one is Kim Euijoon was still struggling to find his voice as a playwright. playwright had much explanation to do before he could tell his story, and Kim KoreanAmerican a 2000, In world. his understand not did attendees ference from Koreatown, was out of place in Little Tokyo, and the majority of the con- toway verballya Koreanyoungexpressfrustrations. out hisa American Kim, figured not had Chin, loquacious the unlike Kim, but comparison, of points masculine anger toward society and a sense of youthful angst were the obvious play the with 1972 in theater American . The hyper- hyper- TheChinaman .Chickencoop xiii introduction 4 After 1965, the number of immigrants grew exponen- grew immigrants of number the 1965, After 3 immigrants embodied the failure to achieve the American Dream. American the achieve to embodied failure immigrants the to Attempts explain the causes and consequences of the riots have led to a ans ans outside of Korea and because of the Los Angeles riots in 1992 that gar- nered international attention. Victims of the riots quickly became the public face of the Korean diaspora, as the news media disseminated images of frus- trated business owners lefton own their to protect theirproperties and fami- lies. Speaking broken English and looking painfully displaced, these Korean presence at home and a growing number of Koreans immigrating to the United United the to immigrating Koreans of number growing a and home at presence been have Americas the in diaspora Korean the on studies Accordingly, States. based scholars, and American Korean studies have grown dominated by U.S.- steadily as an important area study. Among U.S. cities, Los Angeles has re- ceived much scrutiny because the city has the largest concentration of Kore- 2.08 million (China being the largest, with 2.43 million). Canada has almost in Central live and South America. 200,000, 107,000 and about imperial- latter’s the during 1945 to 1910 from Japan by occupied was Korea Korea dependedWar II, World defeat in Japan’s into Afterist Asia. expansion on the United States for its postwar recovery, with a constant U.S. military also also illegal immigrants who had to travel through a third country in order to arrive at their final destination.Whatever the backgrounds andreasons for immigration, the majority of immigrants settled in urban enclaves. Accord- ing to the 2005 data reported by the Overseas Koreans Foundation, it is esti- mated that 6.6 million live Koreans in 160 The different countries worldwide. with population immigrant Korean largest second the to home is States United tially, and tially, it is estimated that by 1980, over a half million had immigrated to the Americas from Many Korea. immigrants who leftKoreafor the Americas students, wives afterof1965professionals, were Americanmilitary personnel, were Some country. host the in residing already those of relatives and adoptees, But But immigration began decades earlier. From the first decadeof the twenti- eth Korean century, laborers arrived in Hawaii to work on sugar plantations. And starting in the 1960s, immigration laws in both the Americas and Korea eased. significantly were as as “Korean American”; rather it functions as an inclusive term to provide a in the histories and immigration diasporic of perspective Korean hemispheric War the before to signify Korean the peninsula entire I use Americas. “Korea” (1950–53), but I also use it interchangeably with “South Korea” to refer to its War II,World the country was history after After divided the war. intoNorth and South, and immigration to the Americas came mostly from South Korea. xiv introduction who would sacrifice themselves for the betterment of their children’s future. their of betterment the for themselves sacrifice would who strongpeople diasporic a as described been haveelsewhere and United States the in Koreans perseverance. and survival of narrative reductive yet popular success do not reveal the full picture of the Korean diasporic history in the in history diasporic Korean the of picture full the reveal not do success immigrant of narratives that shown also has sciences social the in research But it. of advantage full taken have many and generation, parents’ their of those to compared abundant are success for opportunities generation”), “1.5 who those the (including called sometimes adulthood, Americas before immigrated and Korea the in born were in second- Koreans Forgeneration who hadlost everything. the popular image of Koreans was that of desperate, unassimilated immigrants when riots, L.A. the since happened has what wonderto many led has ments States), to name only a few. The seeming suddenness of such collective achieve- (golf, Brazil), Jim Paek (ice hockey, Canada), and Hines Ward (football, United Park Angela roots: Korean with athletes professional of list growing a also is ics have taken notice of writers such as Chang- and RaeMin JinLee Lee. There literature,crit-mainstreamUnitedIn the States. funniestin comediansthe of productions. Margaret Cho, with her biting humor, has been recognized as one Koreanand American both in appearingby successtransnational had has lar visionshows worldwide.films haveand that seen been Yunjin in particu-Kim tele- in roles major played have Kim Dae Daniel and Park, Grace Cho, John asYunjinsuch actors Kim, KoreanCanadian and KoreanAmerican Survivor. show television American popular the of winner the Yul became Kwon2008 Canadian- born actress Sandra Oh won a Golden Globe Award in 2006, and in became the first KoreanCanadian to holdfederal office. In popular culture, the elected in 2005 as mayor of Edison, New Jersey. In Canada, Yonah Kim- Martin troversial part of the Patriot Act during the Bush administration. Jun Choi was professorlawJohn the Yoo con-mosthaving theknown forauthored became center and often in unexpected professions. For instance, inthe United States, popular culture, descendants of Korean immigrants have been visible front and to politics From Americas. the throughout immigrants Korean successful of those with replaced quickly were riots L.A. the from merchant broken the of the of American Dream iterations would inspire more Such Koreans to leave engineers. their homeland. Images and doctors, lawyers, become to schools tory receiving minimum wage. Their children would be accepted to Ivy League fac- garment a at away toil would wife his swap- while downtown store meet a Koreaown universityin would top a fromeducation college a with father A xv introduction Nanta have hallyu has been seen as a The The Last Empress and In the 1990s, South Korea was one 5 , or the Korean Wave, which has made made has which Wave, Korean the or , hallyu hallyu has given the Korean diasporic communities a 6 dialectical open freedom sense from of unified prideethnonational andwide- boundaries. national Korea’s economic Korea’s rise, ever, the Korean economy became far more industrialized globally, with brands brands with globally, industrialized more far became economy Korean the ever, such as grown Samsung opportunities for and the Hyundai projecting home- Korean Americanscould Korean listento popular music first century. twenty- thou- among be would music the but smartphones, Samsung their on Pop) (K- world and by distributed all the around artists from sands created by of songs based longer no are identities ethnic flexible Such corporations. multinational country,” “host the or “homeland” the between choice impossible the on solely but the option to defineoneself andtransnationally Aided globally. by South by- product product of the equally by- sudden rise of the South Korean economy, which has grown from almost nothing to a trillion U.S. dollars in less than half a The century. South Korean economy, described as the “Miracle on the Han now ranks River,” fifteenth inthe world. of the “Asian tigers” recognized for extraordinary economic growth. When immigrants of leftKorean vast the formajority the Americas in the1970s and 1980s, there was little doubt that they were in search of better employment and educational opportunities in a foreign land. In succeeding years, how- has has all but been erased with the Internet, satellite television, and global film distribution. In theater, musicals such as forms intercultural creating for recognition received and internationally toured of theatrical The expression. sudden popularity of popular South Korean entertainment fashionable in Asia and beyond. For popular ex- entertainment in South fashionable and Asia Korean beyond. For audi- out sold- to Garden Square Madison in performed Rain singer the ample, South- in women inspired have operas soap television Korean South and ences, east Asia to undergo cosmetic surgery generation to look “Korean.” Second- in Koreans the Americas witnessed have the global renaissance of the Korean “abroad” and “Korean” between distinction The decade. past the during culture dicting. dicting. With the increase in population and definitionsdiversity, of success and identity have varied, and there is no longer a clear pattern to singularly Americas. in the diaspora Korean the describe Complicating the individual as known commonly achievements is what been of the second generation has Americas. For every success story, there is an unsuccessful and even tragic one. one. tragic even and unsuccessful an is there story, success every For Americas. Indeed, the popular images tell only the most visible but part the of the story, contra- and complex vastly are Americas the in communities diasporic Korean xvi introduction the Korean diasporic condition—real made known. or be imagined—can mented, imagined, and represented. The plays in this collection remind us that docu- observed, be nevertheless can phenomenon and concept both as pora scriptors. The parameters that guide identity formations are not limited by limited not are formations identity guide that parameters The scriptors. de- de- of and questions of sense set new a a requires signify that identity, onecultural centralized to used been has “diaspora” term Accordingly,the Tek Oh, an actor and cofounder of the ewp, had three plays produced duringproducedplaysthree had Tekactorcofounderewp, an and the Oh, of tory of producing plays written by Korean or Korean American writers. Soon- have longestthe had his- Americanplaywrights work.their todebut The ewp Korean many for labor and space both pan-provided its has with ethnically theater, infrastructure, American formed Asian years, fifty past the Over groups around the country. and companies theater diasporic Asian and American Asian active forty over now are ThereSeattle. and Francisco, YorkNew San City, in followed others and founded, company, was theater American Asian first the Angeles), (Los plays, and advocating equal opportunity in American theater. In 1965, the ewp new producing companies, theater forming by 1970s and 1960s the in ment move- a started directors and playwrights,actors, AsianAmerican of group a American theater. As I describe in KoreanAsiansupporteddiasporic has been infrastructure writersthat has cal theatri- main the States, United the In visible. work their making to key the often is community right the finding dramatists, young for and, voice, and niche their find to artists theater for foundation the provides infrastructure infrastructure.” “theatrical a as director,describes Canadian Japanese a Shiomi, Rick what and communitysupportive a need Playwrights managers. and producers, dramaturgs, directors, actors, designers, including people, many of collaboration the requires and politics internal own its has play a producing of process Theworkshops. reading in or forms produced fully in presentedaudiencestohaveplays For havethat been I collection this selected playS DiaSpora Korean object.” epistemological static as itself fix to hesitates and movements and “evokeslocations diasporamultiple Korean of concept the Shimakawa, Karen and Chuh Kandice critics cultural influencedbeen by new forms of mobility andgroupings. Borrowing fromthe nationhood or ethnic enclaves. Rather, the Korean diasporic communities have 7 While neither static nor fixed, dias- fixed, Korean nor static neitherWhile A History of Asian American Theatre (2006), 8 The xvii introduction Oh’s Oh’s 9 Camels Camels (1967), (1967), Home Go Can’t Martyrs , a play about Korean “comfort “comfort Korean about play a , Hanako (1970). Happen Never Tondemonai- While the infrastructure of Asian American the- of Asian the infrastructure While 10 : “In a very real and significant I way, suspect, Korean . The play was followed in the 1999 sea- 1999 the in followed was play The . Raining Cleveland . The play was produced in 1993 at the Round House House Round the at 1993 in produced was play The . Waiting of Art The American Theatre American American American playwrights had to address racism, cultural nationalism, Oriental- American American writers have been discouraged or eclipsed by the larger rubric of the of out grew that consciousness political a movement,’ American Asian ‘the late 1960s and early 1970s.” Theatre Theatre in Maryland. Korean American playwrights, many of whom are in- the in starting cohort noticeable a as emerge to began collection, this in cluded 1990s. the half of second “Times article her in writes Hong Terry critic theater American Korean The Up: The Moment Is Now” that Korean American playwrights are finallyget- of rubric ethnic pan- the to connection the without own their on attention ting “Asian American.” Hong quotes Randy the Gener, senior editor of the maga- zine rarely rarely produced during the 1970s and 1980s, when plays presented under the Japa- and Chinese the about mostly were theater” American “Asian of category nese American experiences. One notable exception was the Asian American Labfounded Theater in by Playwrights 1992 at Chiori It Miyagawa. the Public lived, but it introduced was Sung short- Rno and Diana Son to the New York audience. Outside of the infrastructure of Asian American theater, Rob Shin for 1990 in Award Playwriting Student National Center’s Kennedy the received play his ties. ties. Production histories are similar for other Asian American theater com- panies, such as Pan Asian Repertory Theatre City) (New York and the Asian American Theater Company (San Francisco). Korean American plays were the early years of the company’s history: company’s the of years early the and (1967), Peking in legged Two- Were Korean of writer a by written plays produced fully first the considered are plays descent in Tek the OhAmericas. fromAfter the thecom- departureof Soon- ewp the with 1995 until play American pany, Korean another produce not did of premier world the Kim’s Chungmi of production a by son women” during the Japanese occupation in II. War World During the 1980s, the ewp had a subscription base that was predominantly Japanese American 1990s mid- the in only was It Mako. director artistic the of leadership the under that made explicitly the effortscompany to includeplaysabout ethnici- other ater provided important production opportunities for Korean American play- American Korean for opportunities production important provided ater wrights, would who otherwise rarely have such chances, it may have also lim- ited the kinds of topics that they could explore. Earlier generations of Asian xviii

introduction tation of Asian American drama. Kan Gotanda, and Velina Hasu Houston, have definedthe purpose and expec- writers, including Frank Chin, Wakako Yamauchi, David Henry Hwang, Phillip these Playsby Americans.Asian about little very knew audiencewho the cate ism, and feminism in the most direct and basic ways they because had to edu- such as Rick Shiomi, who could not find opportunities in Canada, moved to moved Canada, in opportunities find not could who Shiomi, Rick as such artists individual Some 1990s. late the until even movement a as start to ater Ina theatrical Canada, infrastructure did not exist for Asian the- Canadian actors who performed intheir plays. sional starting point for the majority of the writers in this collection and for the theater will be centered in New York City, but the big city has the been profes- Koreandiasporic forinfrastructure theatrical a whether seen be to remainsIt Kim, and others are arriving with nothing but the will to achieve their dreams. Duk Randall actor the and Kim Willadesigner costume the of case the in as reputation, and respect found already have Some descent. Korean of writers gatheringforplacethe already becoming cityis the and actors, designers, and decades, for world the around artists theater talented and ambitious at- tracted Yorkhas New City States, United the of capital theater facto de the As in exploring ways new of dramatizing the world they know. exercisingtheirin creativitythefreedommuchartistic writers havetaken and demonstrate, collection this in plays the as ethnically.orraciallyAnd gorized AmericanMidwest,the Seoul, Toronto, cate- cannotbe venues other that and in companies by Off- and produced Broadway been have writers diasporic Korean by Plays networks. their expanded also have writers the but wrights, play- diasporic Korean many for infrastructure theatrical and home artistic the as serve to continues theater American Asian Indeed, writers. diasporic Korean new for entryway critical a been has which Laboratory, Playwrights Ma- of leaders Yi’sas active been have Suh Lloyd and Rno Sung plays. new promoteand voicesincorporateother to began quickly but group theater can NewYorkin company Ameri-Filipino a City.as began initially companyThe Ma- been has change such Off-of Theater,Yian resentative theater Broadway ing the way, Asian American theater as a whole has also changed. The most rep- anyone regardless of their cultural identity. With Korean diasporic writers lead- write about characters with multidimensional human problems that can afflict In their plays, race and ethnicity are not central in obvious ways. Instead, they con- political the 1990s. and 1980s the beyond cultureofwar the and 1970smoved and 1960s the have of sciousness collection this in playwrights The xix introduction Canada has a unique history of 11 Noran Bang: Yellow Room Noran Bang: (1993) Yellow premiered at Cahoots has received attention as one of the most discussed discussed most the of one as attention received has Project Ono Yoko The is included in this collection, I am not aware of other Latin American American Latin other of aware not am I collection, this in included is Mina that fully deserve publication. While it has not been easy to make the final mittedly comes short in providing more examples of plays from Latin America. America. Latin from plays of examples more providing in short comes mittedly this collection, I in of playwrights hope emerging With to open the possibility a the- create and to other each Central, discover to and South America North, and diasporic. that transnational truly is infrastructure atrical works of number a exclude to had I collection, this for plays the choosing In play play playwrights of Korean descent. Of course, this does not mean that they don’t those find to easier simply is it myself, like scholars speaking English- For exist. States. Although this in and English works in writes the United who Park, like collection proposes to the represent of entire hemisphere the Americas, it ad- government- led efforts to promote multiculturalism, and both Yoon and Kang Kang and Yoon both and multiculturalism, promote to efforts led government- have been at the forefront of creating and defining bothAsian Canadian the- and Canadian theater. multicultural ater the Unlike States United and Canada, Latin America has not been studied extensively for its Korean diasporic communities. One reason is the smaller im- smaller the is reason One communities. diasporic Korean its for extensively migration population spread over many differentcountries, which can make the and access language with do to has reason Another difficult. generalization their in English use to scholars American North and Korean both of preference research. In terms of searching theater, for Korean diasporic artists is a chal- defined is theater how in differences cultural the of because Partly task. lenging ac- theatrical gauge to way accurate most the not is playwriting produced, and based theater is, all,after aEuropean tradition bestcontinued in Script- tivity. act one- whose Park, H. Kyoung writer born Chile- the Besides America. North ond ond generation’s experiences of displacement and identity crisis. Of Yoon’s plays, projects in contemporary Canadian theater. small, small, Korean Canadian playwrights such as and Jean Yoon M. J. Kang have played central roles in the development of contemporary Canadian theater. Both these women have collaborated in multiple projects and acted in each other’s plays. Kang’s fact, In company. the of director artistic co- the was Yoon while Project Theatre Kang’s play is one of the earliest written in the Americas to address the sec- the the United States, and those who stayed in Canada defined their work more has as Cahoots broadly Project Theatre multicultural. (Toronto) instance, For many and theater, Canadian in diversity promoting in role significant a played Asian Canadian artists have made it their While home. the number has been xx introduction writers include Young Jean Lee, Euijoon Kim, Kimber Lee, M. J. Kang, Ins Kang, J. M. Lee, Kimber Kim, Euijoon Lee, YoungJean include writers plays writtenof by writersquality of the Koreanand diaspora in numberthe Americas. Some of both those in surge the see to encouraged am I selection, tions.” diasporic requires continual reproduction of certain conditions and identifica- Rhacel S. Parreñas and Lok C. D. Siu, in defining Asian diaspora, write, “Being constantlydynamicand existenceis the time, same changing.scientistsSocial the At existence. of sense dispersed such from derive plays the in issues and themes recurringsurvival.The and adaption as well as loss of and displacement sense a evokes scattering, means “diaspora,”literarily whichword The issuescal significant enough to merit a study theof plays group.as a criti- and However,themesrecurring gibberish. multilingual several are there California Valley- Southern from to ways—ranging different speak in speaks character every And head. character’s a in entirely place take also can story a Texas or an abstract location. While most plays are written in the realistic style, SomeKoreatowns in playslife. areset ofmiddle the otherswhilein placetake first-are others immigrant stereotypical the out living dry cleaners generation assimilated second- are characters generation college students who Some try to act like dialogues. their specific white friends, of while and terms in plots, immensely settings, vary group, characters, a as plays, diasporic Korean by aKorean American writer. to Heaven and Other Plays (2009), is the first single- authored drama anthology writing an “identity play.” A collection of her work, in anxiety and discomfort her on take jarring a Heaven—isto Flying Dragon the does—Songof that one the Koreanbut withtopics,diasporic directly deal not do plays her of funny.Most and subversive both as plays her described have critics and theater, American of playwrights experimental most the of company, Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company. She has recognized asbeen one award-with theater American in playwrightmajor herwinningplaysand own a as emerged has particular, in Lee, YoungJean plays. their of productions professional receive to beginning are who Leo) Hae Katie and Lee (Kimber writers adoptee Korean of couple a also are ThereAngeles. Los in Company TheatreLodestone the and Chung Philip of case the in as companies, theater these writers are U.S.- and somebased, have long associated been with specific PaulLee.and PaulKim, The majorityJuhn, Patty Cha Jang,Hae KatieLeo, of Nic Lee, Hyun Ji Kim, Susan Lee, Suzanne Chung, Mia Chung, Philip Choi, 13 The plays are essentially about such continual reproduction, and the reproduction,and continual such about essentiallyare plays The 12 Songs theof Dragon Flying xxi introduction pation pation of Korea, the and Korean War, the U.S. involvement in Korea never as disappear a backdrop to the the choices characters make. In the coun- new but seechildren some parents their succeed them and wealthy, as try, become balancedlife. well- a of value the know not do who capitalists obsessed money- But in most cases, the parents do dream not and achieve the find immigrant’s comfort in churches, friends, and videos of soap Korean The parents’ operas. highimpossibly expectation for material inevitably success leads to a sense of dealsma- with On the other hand, the generation second everyone. for failure terial in success varying ways. A character may become an banker investment sented with family, homeland, or authenticity, assimilation. Many plays deal with the pressure to succeed financially andMaterialprofessionally. success is perceived as the fastest and surest way to adapt and belong for nothing at stopping characters generation in a new first- portray plays the and so- ciety, socially their The children’s upward firstgenerationmobility. leftKorea for a better life, and do they not want children their to live the desperate life many in Korea had to live Theafter War. history theof Korean theJapanese occu- have have assimilated too much. The society at large tells them that they are too bemore to them want friends their and foreigners, even or Korean, too Asian, political as Asian Americans, Asian Canadians, or other hyphenated identi- But infiers. they know theirhearts that donot race dictate and their ethnicity They leave lives. their or family, their family leaves them. visit Some to Korea finda senseof belonging, but theyThey leave disillusionedmay andlonelier. look physically similar to people on the streets of Seoul but lack the language any- belong not do they that realize Some in. fit truly to familiarity cultural and imagi- or elusive however home, seek to continue nevertheless they but where, be. may nary it sense The of belonging is not limited to finding ahome thatmay berepre- should define themselves. The children of immigrants often did not have a say a have not did often immigrants of children The themselves. define should re- difficulty have they and continent, another for Korea leaving family their in solving the enormous and sometimes embarrassing differences between their Theytrymay parents andgeneration other people in theirsurroundings. first- to assimilate and blend in, but do they so as a of consequence losing a part of Their family tells themselves. them are they not enough Korean and that they diasporic conditions and identifications are dramatized with themes of belong- of themes with dramatized are identifications and conditions diasporic and ethnic identity. success, war, memory, family, assimilation, ing, they how and belong they where know to seek characters the of majority The xxii introduction The playwrights also dramatize the ways in which gender howdictates suc- ters with deal what it means to andhow succeed success should defined. be work in the small store he inherits from his parents. Either way, all the charac- proudlyand likefather,nothisis he that declare anothermaybut continue to lection intends to be an ethnographic documentation of the Koreanthe documentationof diaspora.ethnographic an be to intends lection col- this in plays the of None existence. everyday their to consequence small has Koreanhistory knowof they what Korea,and to been never have wrights play- the reception.majorityof Theand interpretation spectators’ or readers’ the on depends reality represent plays the much Howcreativity. and nation writers’imagi-the of products and works literary ultimately,are Butplays ploration. find resolution, butthey continue toevolve and contribute tothe collective ex- to find answers and to make connections with others. The characters may never characters’ struggle sincerethe is moving and powerfulplay each makes what reality.their escape attemptto an But in lover a theirto orchurch, alcohol, to angertowardsociety.intoparentsthe ortheir They to work, their toturn also psychologically,downbreakSome them. convertotherstheir while confusion plays.the Many characters hear contradictory formessages best is what about in exclusivemutually never and complex are failure and success of Stories dictory goals andnotions of success andhappiness. best for the other person, but they are entangled in a destructive web of the contra- want and other each for love obvious have Theydiaspora. the of aspects common most yet complicated most the of one reveal relationships daughter mother- the And future. the and past the both of symbol a as functions fore, there- mother, the of trope the plays, diaspora Korean In country.new a in afresh start to choice the represents also she herself, immigrant an is mother the ways in which mothers are imagined in the minds of immigrants. When the even in the process of their rejecting it. Terms such as “mother land” emphasize “old country” the commonlyembody mothers and roots, cultural and logical one’sbio- particular,represent universally in mothers but Parents,attractive. non-finds daughter men the Korean mother- which in relationship daughter freedom. One of the most common stories in the Korean diaspora drama is the and individuality her stifle and repress can they thinks she because attractive and to focus on finding a good Korean husband. But she finds Korean men un- fucius and tell her to obey them and her husband. She is told to dress modestly Con- by taught valuescharacter’s gender the female her parentsteachA men. for those from differ women for expectations the how and measured is cess xxiii introduction His- Mina , Rockaby K’s inarticulate words words inarticulate K’s 14 Not I and Not Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame, Shame, Diaspora: Korean the Haunting by Edward Bok Lee and Lee Bok Edward by K History 99 Histories is representative of many Korean diasporic plays History History K begins the collection with a haunting monologue of an Asian that deal with remembrance, forgetting, and fantasy. In the play, memories Julia Cho’s been haunted by the traumatic effects of what we are not allowed to know—the know—the to allowed not are we what of effects traumatic the by haunted been and it, resolve to failure the War, Korean the by inflicted devastation and terror history.” violent this surrounding silences multiple the by Kyoung H. Park, bookend the full- length plays as prologue and epilogue. prologue as length plays full- the bookend H. Park, Kyoung by Asia. in occupation military the embodies allegorically who K named prostitute chronicle a as read be can story K’s nationality, Asian any of be could she While of in the the Written U.S. modern style involvement in history. remi- Korea’s as woman such plays niscent of one- Samuel Beckett’s in aggression military West’s the by victimized painfully woman a shows K tory glimpses fragmented show canonly K existence, her articulate to Unable Asia. of westernization forced onto her both physically The and soci- emotionally. book her in writes Cho M. Grace ologist diaspora , in Korean States “The the has United War and the Forgotten Secrecy, and the silences create poetry that serve and as back- a the haunting prologue collection. in the plays other the for ground eration. eration. Many of the playwrights included here have written plays that have nothing to do with as “Korean” a cultural identifier, and somereject ethnic- because the However, specific labels thathinder may freedomtheiras writers. broadly theme a as it address plays the diaspora, Korean the about is collection plays, act one- two The collectively. and the Seven playS in thiS ColleCtion The selection process for this collection was based on my wish to showcase a that plays to preference given also have I but styles, and topics of range diverse diasporic address issues directly Korean written by writers of the second gen- have given life to stories that sketch the constantly evolving sense of being and and being of sense evolving constantly the sketch that stories to life given have becoming in the the With Korean diaspora. full acknowledgment of their tal- ent and potential, I the present selected seven not to plays indicate a but limit to open the possibility of many more productions and publications to follow come. to years in the Rather, Rather, the plays are about what the writers have felt emotionally and imag- plays The inedin diaspora. seeingintuitively as part themselves of the Korean reflect the world that haunts the writers’minds. As a group, the playwrights xxiv

introduction Korea’s history, and Eunice ran away from her mother in order to escape her escape to order in mother her from awayKorea’s ran Eunice history,and and past personal her both Sah- forget States, to United attempted the Jin to life in Korea and her father, who died abruptly in Los Angeles. By immigrating not move on without finding out theabout past, especially about her mother’s can- daughter the But life. her rebuild to and forward look to her encourages mother,Sah- the home, from away running after long Jin, pregnant up shows ways a classic mother- daughter relationship story. When Eunice, the daughter, many in is what tells time.Cho over evolve they also and fluid, and faultyare the plays do not resemble everyday realities, but they can function as abstractfunctiontheyas can but realities, everydayresemble not do plays the in created worlds The destroyed. and reified be can myth a which to treme ex- the demonstrate plays sources.The external and internal both from dren playsonthe Koreandismantleexpectations placed theirand immigrants chil- is the myth of the Korean family, the American Dream, orsense. broad the a Whetheritmodelin myths minority,with deal collection the in plays the All angerdeep anddisappointments, butthey somehow continue to live on. wanderers,survivors.and Theirhide façades humorous cynical and dialogues lone characters, independent fiercely WestWildthewith of versionstory can KoreanAmeri- a home. staytells playTheto reasonshave longer no children his family, but broken his with redemption and happiness cowboy,finds a as himself describes who father the Chun, Suk Min father. estranged the cepts excitedlyac- Ralph, one, youngest the but parents, Esther,her ofdisapproves ex- her for food the prepares party.happily daughter,husband’sbirthday The she wife, a as obligation any from free Texas.inis assimilatedshe ably While “aas TheMary,Asian- modern wife, described is woman”American comfort- zodiac). birthday ritual completionsixtieth Eastern celebratingthe(the the of The oldest son, David, refuses to come home to celebrate his father’s dren try to understand how they can—or would want to—function as a family. chil- grown three and wife divorced forgotten.The and repressed has family the memories past of the reincarnation physical is the he years, fifteen after Korea from returns father together.staying the difficulty When Hwangaphas in family the Like finally peace. can to start find she fact, that embracingplay, in the but of end the memories,”at Eunice says wrong the remembered“We forgotten. and hidden get that secrets the and remembered and documented get that events the about story multilayered a tells play the finds, photographsEunice together.haveold they the Likebond childhood, but they ultimately accept their realities and draw strength from the , the Chun family in Lloyd Suh’sLloyd in family Chun the Histories, 99 American hwangap xxv introduction Hongbu Hongbu and Tale The Nolbu: Yi Yi Sang Counts to Thirteen by Sung But it is ultimately about the poetic world of 15 about about Icarus and his wings. Yi Sang as interpreted and recreated by Rno. The work is unique as the first Korean American play to receive a professional production in Korea and has since been revived there, seen as an exemplary dramatization of Yi Sang and the with do to has Korea in acceptance play’s the for reason major work.A his fact that the director of the original production was the famed American Lee they they could be or become. The play itself could also be many things, includ- ing a postmodern pastiche of the world known to Sung Rno. Or it could be, as the theater critic Adam Klasfeld notes, an inverted tale of the Greek myth the age of twenty- seven during the height of Japanese colonial rule in Korea. He He Korea. in rule colonial Japanese of height the during seven twenty- of age the rec- posthumous unprecedented received has who genius poet a considered is Indeed,ognition. he is a mythic Sung character in literary the society. Korean that poems Sang’s Yi of translations by inspired play surrealistic a presents Rno play Rno’s poems, Sang’s Yi Like rules. defyand structural genres literary blur about con- and less and permutations, juxtapositions, about patterns, is more ventional storytelling and The three character development. characters, iden- tifiedas Blue, Red, and Green,commit to actions and wordswithout thegoal what in limitless are possibilities rather, plot; the further to or communicate to Things Sang’s Yi turn Mr. certain even a through reflected as “Seoul in place takes more play The bizarre Rno. with strange and twisted poetsurrealist brain.” Sang The Korean Yi died in 1937 at adaptation was written initially for the audience of the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre, Theatre, Kimsa Lorraine the of audience the for initially written was adaptation many together brought production The Toronto. in people, young for theater a in time first the for theater attended whom of many families, Canadian Korean lan- and dance, mask drumming, Korean of use Canada.play’s Becausethe of specific the and generation, older the by received enthusiastically was it guage, references to popular culture (for example, video games) made the play con- can popularity play’s The generation. younger the for accessible and temporary mask Korean both of style the in humor referential self- its by explained be also char- change actors mode, improvisational an In comedy. slapstick and drama per- one From next. happens what them tell and audience the of front in acters another, from but story, mythical innocent and simple a tells play the spective, fantasies and dark humor. bizarre of full extravaganza theatrical a meta- is it parables parables from the Korean diaspora. Jean Yoon’s of the is Pumpkins Magic an adaptation of one of the most commonly known Children folklores. Korean in grow Korea up hearing about the two brothers, Hongbu and Nolbu, whose story teaches them to be kind and Yoon’s honest. xxvi

introduction experimental artists of different generationsbackgrounds. and Breuer. The production was heralded as a meaningful coming together of three by works included previously Festival,had Theaterwhich Seoul the in cluded resident artist for the director’s company Mabou Mines. The play was then in- Breuer.In 1998, Rno worked on playthe with Breuer when formerthe wasthe which reads like a long confessional purging. She is a victim of colonialism and piece, short the in languages different three speaks She American. and nese, Chilean Korean the of form the in Park’sKyoungepilogueone- H. playwright an play,withact ends collection The into the future for the sake of her family. new that derive from racial, ethnic, and gendered divisions. She only looks forward expectations social by bounded be to need not does she chosen; be can tities the baby. Nina projects a future in which categories can be rewritten and iden- for create can they life new a symbolizes words the up make to freedom The remember.to trying were they lullaby a to ourselves,”referringwords the up to herself and others. At the end of the play, Nina tells Miles that “we can make sions in order to set her own moral standards and to define her responsibilities heart- maketoforced is directionsmultipleand in pulled self wrenchingdeci- Korean woman, Mrs. Chae, as a nanny. As her new life unfolds, Nina finds her- a hires and motherhood with overwhelmed is Nina computerengineering. in degree a with universityprestigious a from graduated had and familywhite a family lifestyle with her African American husband, Miles, who was adopted by a start to Brooklyn to moves who mother new a also is She success. on cused fo- ambitious,and driven, is She thirties. her successfularchitectin a is Nina, onlyisidentity ethnic herof onemultiple offacets existence. The protagonist, Son’s Diana evolve. to diasporiccommunities have recreatedthemselves ofout trauma continueand Koreanwhich in exemplifytheways.waysvarious collection this in Theplays ontological unsettle awareness. But the disruptions can and also open doors for instability,changes in unimagined mental worsen families, up break can move physical the by caused disruption uprooted the collection, this in tized drama- As damaging. permanently be can country new the in felt placement in leitmotif a dis- of as sense the functions and traumatic, trauma be myths,can Immigration plays. and diaspora Korean memories to addition In of control. Mina is utterly lost between fourPeruvian,cultures: Korean, between Japa- lost utterly is Mina control.of tory K that begins the collection, Mina struggles with a life that has spiraled out shows a Korean American character whose character American Korean a shows Satellites . Like the character K in K character the MinaLike . His- xxvii introduction Korea’s Korea’s Imperial Imperial Variety Daily Multicultural- Orientations: Map- Orientations: The Korean The Ameri- Korean Asian American American Cul- Asian 48, no. 2 (Summer 2005), (Summer 2 no. 48, Drama Modern Love and RelASIANships: Love A and Collection RelASIANships: of Contemporary ture ture on Stage: The History of the East Players West (New Garland, York: 1999). For a Legitimization of an Oh, article see“Transnational my Tek of Soon- biographical study Oh,” Tek Soon- of Career and Life The Actor: 372–406. 69. (December 2003), Journal KoreAm Up,” “Times Hong, Terry 10. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2008). Press, University Stanford (Stanford: LA to Seoul from Race and Koreans Citizens: Kandice 7. Chu and Karen Shimakawa, eds., in “Introduction,” 8. Rick , Drama Canadian vol. 1, Shiomi, ed. Canadian Nina “Preface,” Lee Drama Pub-(Toronto: Aquino Asian- 4. 2009), lisher, 9. detailsFor on the history of the ewp, Kurahashi, see Yuko are available in Korean at the Overseas Koreans Foundation website (http://www.korean (http://www.korean website Foundation Koreans Overseas the at Korean in available are 23, 2010). June accessed .net/morgue/status_1_2005.jsp?tCode=status&dCode=0101; Cumming, Bruce see River,” Han the on “Miracle phrase the on details For 5. Place in the Sun: A Modern History (New York: W. 2001). Scientific Publishing, W. World of (Singapore: Change A Century Korea: Norton, Kleiner’s 2005), and Jürgen 6. I am using as the definedterm by “ethnonationalism” Nadia Y. Kim in 6. 2001), Press, University Duke (Durham: Diaspora Asian the in Studies ping tive Perspective,” conference paper for the session “Transformation & Prospect toward toward Prospect & “Transformation session the for paper conference Perspective,” tive Communi- Intercultural Society:Enhancing Multicultural and Multiracial Multiethnic, 2006. South Korea, Kwangju, Forum, Culture Asia cation,” (48,000), population Korean Para- largest the and has 10,000), Brazil America, (almost South and Central Guatemala In 4. (12,000), Mexico (22,000), Argentina by followed data The report. the in specified not were 4,000 than fewer with Populations (5,000). guay Press, 2004); and In- Jin Yoon, “Understanding Jin the Press, Yoon, 2004); Korean Diaspora and from In- Compara- noteS 1. Julio Tired Martinez, Broke Ass Slapstick“My Pontificating Funk,” globalization, globalization, but unlike K, who is hopeless, she is a survivor who imagines findingherself at the end.She may haveno roots she canclaim, butshe can dream of happiness and hope for the future. It is with this optimistic reading of the piece diaspora that I the seven the present Korean from following plays Americas. in the (March 22, 16. 2000): (March 12, 2010. April author, the to email 2. Kim, Euijoon 3. For details of the immigration Conn.: policies, Greenwood Moo cans see Press, Hurh, (Westport, 1998);Won Elspeth Cameron, ed., Canadian Scholar’s (Toronto: Reader Introductory An in Canada: ism and Immigration xxviii

introduction sang- sang- counts- to- 13- and- often- i-Mania, August find- 15, 2001 (http://www.theatermania.com/new- that- i- york/reviews/08–2001/yi- am- na_1590.html; accessed July15, 2010). 15. Adam Klasfeld, “ lis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008),12. 12. Young Jean Lee, Lee, YoungJean 12. Aquino Nina Lee ed. andRic Knowles (Toronto: Playwrights 2011). Canada, Jean Zero’: Yoon “‘Patient Koreanand Theatre,”Canadian in 11. For an expanded study on Jean Yoon and Korean Canadian theater, see my article Cho, Cho, M. Americas. Grace the of all and Japan, China, including world, the of parts other in Koreanthe oftrauma the that add would I War 14. affected has immigrantsKorean Conceptions (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007). 13. Rhacel S. Parreñas and Lok C. D. Siu, eds., 2007), 89–102. Race and Gender,” Dragon Flying to Heaven, see Karen Shimakawa, “Young Jean Lee’s Ugly Feelings about play York:the of discussionFor 2009).a Group,CommunicationsTheatre Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame, Secrecy, and the Forgotten War (Minneapo- Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory 17, no. 1 (March Yi Sang Counts to 13 and (New (New Plays Other and Heaven to Flying Dragon the of Songs Often I Find That I Am Naked,” Asian Diasporas: New Formations, New AsianCanadian Theatre , Song of the of Song Theatre