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  • Seven Contemporary Plays from the Korean Diaspora in the Americas

    Editor(s): Esther Kim Lee
    Published: 2012
    Pages: 360
    Illustrations: 13 photographs
  • Paperback: $26.95 - In Stock
    978-0-8223-5274-7
  • Cloth: $94.95 - In Stock
    978-0-8223-5253-2
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  • Acknowledgments  ix
    Introduction  xi
    History K / Edward Bok Lee  1
    99 Histories / Julia Cho  21
    American Hwangap / Lloyd Suh  85
    Hongbu and Nolbu: The Tale of the Magic Pumpkins / Jean Yoon  151
    Yi Sang Counts to Thirteen / Sung Roo  195
    Satellites / Diana Son  247
    Mina / Kyoung H. Park  321
  • "For over a decade now, some of our nation's most impressive new plays have been written by Korean American dramatists. Esther Kim Lee's important anthology gathers together the groundbreaking work of these artists, who are transforming American theater with their energy, innovations, and sheer talent."—David Henry Hwang, playwright

    "In this exciting anthology of work by Korean diasporic playwrights, Esther Kim Lee has assembled plays that are diverse thematically and aesthetically. Portrayals of diasporic identities vary significantly. The experimentation of History K, Mina, Yi Sang Counts to Thirteen, and the children's play Hongbu and Nolbu is nicely balanced by the more conventionally staged 99 Histories, Satellites, and American Hwangap. Lee's strong, assured introductions to the collection and each play add useful information and analysis."—Josephine Lee, author of Performing Asian America: Race and Ethnicity on the Contemporary Stage

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  • Description

    Showcasing the dynamism of contemporary Korean diasporic theater, this anthology features seven plays by second-generation Korean diasporic writers from the United States, Canada, and Chile. By bringing the plays together in this collection, Esther Kim Lee highlights the themes and styles that have enlivened Korean diasporic theater in the Americas since the 1990s. Some of the plays are set in urban Koreatowns. One takes place in the middle of Texas, while another unfolds entirely in a character's mind. Ethnic identity is not as central as it was in the work of previous generations of Asian diasporic playwrights. In these plays, experiences of diaspora and displacement are likely to be part of broader stories, such as the difficulties faced by a young mother trying to balance family and career. Running through these stories are themes of assimilation, authenticity, family, memory, trauma, and gender-related expectations of success. Lee's introduction includes a brief history of the Korean Peninsula in the twentieth century and of South Korean immigration to the Americas, along with an overview of Asian American theater and the place of Korean American theater within it. Each play is preceded by a brief biography of the playwright and a summary of the play's production history.

    About The Author(s)

    Esther Kim Lee is Associate Professor of Theater and Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is the author of A History of Asian American Theatre.
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