始政五年紀念 朝鮮物産共進會(1915)가 呈才 唱詞에 미친 영향 - <鳳來儀>를 중심으로 -

Abstract

This research paper examines the meaning behind the Court Song Lyrics which was performed at the 1915 Expo(始政五年紀念 朝鮮物産共進會) during September 11th to October 30th 1915, a period in which Korea was under Japanese Imperial rule. To do so requires the examinations of the characteristics of ‘Expo’, a new performance venue that appeared during the 1910s. Furthermore, an in-depth comparison between the Dadong Union(茶洞妓生組合)’s and Kwangyo Union(廣橋妓生組合)’s <Bongraeyi(鳳來儀)> lyrics to the version of <Bongraeyi> lyrics performed in the Chosun Dynasty court will reveal how the Expo influenced the Court Song Lyrics. The Expo with the largest capacity in the 1910s, was held at the Kyungbok palace(景福宮) from September 11th to October 30th 1915 under the supervision of Japan. By publicly advertising the economic improvements of Korea post-colonization, the Expo was used as political propaganda of justification of Japanese Imperial rule; the Expo was a highly successful event with a total of one million visitors. To stimulate the flow of more visitors to the Expo, the Dadong Union and the Kwangyo Union rotated perform daily at the Expo. Considering that <Bongraeyi> performance space was at Kyungbok palace, an important change of power dynamics can be noted: while the <Bongraeyi> was historically performed at the same location, for the elite few belonging in the royal family. However, with the regime change, <Bongraeyi> was publicly performed at the Expo, thereby allowing an unrestricted quantity of average individuals to also watch the performance. When <Bongraeyi> was performed during the imperialist rule, the differences in Dadong Union’s version versus that of the Kwangyo Union were prominent. Dadong Union maintained <Bongraeyi>’s musical components as used in the Chosun Dynasty but shortened the lyrics; The Kwangyo Union had two versions: there was a version that maintained the traditional performance characteristics as well as the new version. However, the new version increased the imperialist propaganda in that it described the current state of the nation as a paradise. The lyrics of the two versions were contrasting but similar in that both versions were to be sung by a melody and were flagrantly praising the imperialist regime. Therefore, it becomes evident that while <Bongraeyi>’s traditional melody and performance rules were maintained, the lyrics were changed to fit the Expo’s purpose of boasting the economic superiority of Korea post-imperialism.