Lyrics 1, 2, 3

2013 - Film & Video (Film & Video)

2:39 minutes, 6:12 minutes, 3:21 minutes (looped)

siren eun young jung

---

Lyrics 1, 2, 3 is part of siren eun young jung Yeoseong Gukgeuk Project (2008–). The work closely follows first and second generations of Yeoseong Gukgeuk actresses, who later became an important source of inspiration for the artist. Formally, this genre of theater draws from Westernized aspects of traditional Korean music performance, as well as from adaptations of pansori , a Korean genre of musical storytelling, to create a staged version of traditional Korean opera. This genre of all-female traditional theater was widely popular in the 1950s before and after the Korean War. Yet, though Yeoseong Gukgeuk met considerable success, it gradually lost momentum after the 1960s. Today, this genre is almost extinct because it’s not being taught or invested in. The video work Lyrics 1, 2, 3 analyzes and reassembles images of the interiors and exteriors of the stages that were once occupied by first and second generation female Yeoseong Gukgeuk actresses So-ja Lee, Young-suk Cho, and Deung-woo Lee. Widely known as gadaggi , a villainous supporting role; sammai , a skilled person’s supporting role; and nimai , a leading role, these outstanding actresses playing male characters are seen getting ready offstage for their onstage performance. The work highlights their affection for the stage by focusing on their daily activities offstage, wandering through landscapes, discovering objects, remembering past moments, acting, and singing.

---

With a practice deeply engaged with feminism and LGBT rights issues, siren eun young jung reveals the subversive power of traditional culture, one unknown in the Korean modernization period, and provides unique perspectives and documentation of important communities. Through their long-term research projects bridging different generations of women, jung keenly addresses questions of gender as a norm of “becoming.” Their early works have examined the struggles of a younger generation of women against androcentrism and violent patriarchy and subsequent projects have addressed issues surrounding environmental change, human rights, activism, and homosexual rights. jung’s pivotal work Yeoseong Gukgeuk Project (2008–2016) engages the existing queer community in South Korea by focusing on Yeoseong Gukgeuk , an all-female traditional theater genre existing since the 1950s, after the Korean War. The ongoing project tells an empowering story of gender-becoming in the mid-20th century. Unveiling traditional yet subversive narratives that existed during the transitional period of a country moving towards a modern society and challenging the myth of Korean “andro-modernization” achieved by a rapid masculinism of national development.

---

Colors:

---

• custom.n.02
• feminist_movement.n.01
• gay.s.06
• music.n.01
• dramaturgy.n.01
• sex.n.04