▲ Director Jung So-won

Hongje: The story of Righteous Outlaw was staged at the Seoul Youth Zone in Yujin Arcade, Hongje-dong, Seoul, on 24 last month. The play secured a support from the 2018 Local Culture Network Project and the door was open to the public for free. 

Hongje: The story of Righteous Outlaw is a two-men-multi-role play and it untangles anecdotes of the residents around the historical sites in the Hongje-dong area. In the play, Hwang Jong-hyuk (oldman Hong and other roles) and Kim Hyun-woo (child Hong and other roles) delivered their talent in shifting from one character to another magically and wowed the audience. 

“It is a tragic story happened around the Hongje-dong area during the Qing invasion of Joseon in the winter of 1636. Many have worked together for the play and the success can only be ascribed to their hard work and sweat” said the director Jung So-won.

Jung majored in theater and film at Hanyang University. She is a man of challenge and naturally most of her works are original plays. We might find it hard to define what kind of genre her plays belong. She borrows ideas from various genres from historical play and black comedy to fusion Korean opera and many more in order to create a unique play of her own. 

Some of her notable works are: Dating Insurance Co and Calculating Society. The former is a romantic comedy built on a harsh world and the latter pictures humans in a virtual world who are brainwashed by the concept ‘successful life’. 

“I try to make plays that can raise sympathy from the audience. It is good and fun to create analog plays with new and different tools and methods. The stories can be based in Korea but their universality can touch the hearts of many global citizens.”