Abstract

The heydays of Ak-gǔk(樂劇) covered in a state of disorder from the late colonial period to the Korean war. Performers of Ak-gǔk entertained troops and refugees with songs and dances even in wartime. Ak-gǔk was transformed from theatrical shows to the ones on the street during those times. Troupes took the road for the provincial audiences rather than in the city Seoul which had become a big cultural hollow because of the Korean war. The activities of entertainers in wartime tell us the relationship between the war and entertainment. The shows could go on, even though the war violently interrupted the peaceful daily life. However they didn't create new ones, just repeatedly reproduced the prewar ones since the future had remained uncertain in an emergency situation. Many musical troupes, including 'Baek-jo gagǔkdan', gained the popularity through the vulgar melodramas with songs and dances in wartime. After the war, however, they had to give ways to the cinemas, the Korean female classical operas, and the variety shows. Ak-gǔk became old-fashioned spectacles. The trials of some troupes, which attempted to adapt themselves to the new showbiz, resulted in failures. As lots of talented entertainers moved their fields to the cinema and the variety show, and audience turned their eyes to new rising entertainment, Ak-gǔk was lost in the mists of time. It has been remembered as only 'nostalgia'.