{"id":501,"date":"2020-05-04T15:35:20","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T15:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/?p=501"},"modified":"2022-02-05T13:03:49","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T13:03:49","slug":"south-korea-out-of-crisis-arises-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/south-korea-out-of-crisis-arises-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"SOUTH KOREA: Out of Crisis Arises Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Um Hyun hee<\/strong>*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No-one saw this coming in early February 2020. It took just two months for South Korean society and its theatre community to become what they are now. The new normal of \u201clife on pause\u201d began amid the fear and confusion caused by the pandemic. The Covid-19 crisis has brought about unprecedented changes in the national theatre scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Information about the damaging effects of Covid-19 on the performing arts in the Korea Arts Management Service<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

These changes brought about an awakening to the need for a crisis management manual. A series of cancellations and postponements with no hope of a return to business as usual has highlighted the need for accurate reporting on the damage artists have suffered, as well as the necessity of a policy to support their livelihoods. Simply put, the artists have wasted the first half of 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has unveiled emergency support measures for the theatre sector. The Covid-19 Help Desk was created by the Korea Arts Management Service to offer advice and counselling, and the Korean Artists Welfare Foundation launched a loan programme for artists who have been affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Arts Council of Korea and the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture have been rolling out multiple subsidies for theatre projects. However, despite the government\u2019s all-out efforts, these measures do not seem to be making a big difference to offset the losses artists face. As for the subsidy programmes, many are reluctant to avail themselves of these in this time of crisis; not least because the loans offered come with strict qualifications for borrowers. The art community is calling for stronger and more accessible support from the government, citing examples from overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Covid-19 outbreak also presented a new possibility of marrying theatre with technology. Online streamed shows, or so-called \u201cLAN productions,\u201d are now widely available in South Korea. National and public theatres are offering past performances online and increasingly presenting premieres of new productions both on-stage and on live streaming platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Theatregoers\u2019 interest in \u201cnon-contact\u201d options, due to fears of the spread of Covid-19, has triggered a debate about the digitization of theatre. Some suggest cautiously that online streaming services should be categorized as a new theatrical genre. Theatre used to be limited by time and space. Now, however, a performance with 6,000 live audience members, when streamed online, is watched by some 60,000 viewers. Whether theatre streaming services will help to locate a new audience base is being hotly debated. A transition to paid access is another issue worth considering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of mid-April, South Korea has successfully flattened the curve of new Covid-19 cases. The biggest takeaway from the pandemic is perhaps that \u201cthere is no such thing as a solid reality or everyday life that remains unchanged.\u201d The top priority now for everyone is to find ways to work with one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Jisoo Nam (Theatre Critic) and Mirinae Youn<\/em> <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
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*<\/a>Um Hyun Hee<\/strong>, is a theatre critic and General Secretary of the International Association of Theatre Critics (South. Korea Section). She lives in Seoul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9<\/strong> 2020 Um Hyun Hee
Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Creative<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This work is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution International License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/flag-sk-400.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":792,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/greece-being-active-with-theatres-closed\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":0},"title":"GREECE: Being Active with Theatres Closed","author":"Um Hyun Hee","date":"May 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Irene Moundraki* Report from the Hellenic Association of Theatre and Performing Arts Critics\u00a0 Communication, teamwork, coexistence, cooperation, collectivity. 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In fact, it is actually part of the curriculum of the final year of their degree. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Interviews"","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/Karauli%C4%87.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":597,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/argentina-never-abandon-the-theatre-even-in-the-toughest-situations\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":4},"title":"ARGENTINA: \u201cNever Abandon the Theatre, Even in the Toughest Situations\u201d","author":"Um Hyun Hee","date":"May 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Halima Tahan Ferreyra* Most theatres in Argentina, both big and small, are offering a variety of online programmes, including not only their past shows, but also their new activities. Moreover, the greatest theatres, such as Col\u00f3n Theatre and Nacional Cervantes Theatre, are keeping their workshops working fully. The employees at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Covid"","block_context":{"text":"Covid","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/covid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/argentina.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":484,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/sweden-the-future-uncertain-within-the-independent-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":5},"title":"SWEDEN: The Future Uncertain within the Independent Field","author":"Um Hyun Hee","date":"May 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Theresa Bener* The world observes, with a certain amount of disbelief, how Sweden has refrained from draconian measures to stop collective assemblies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 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