The Flower Girl (Korean: 꽃 파는 처녀; RR: Kkot Pa-neun Cheo-nyeo) is a North Korean revolutionary genre theatrical performance, supposedly written by Kim Il-Sung himself according to official North Korean sources[1][2]. The performance is considered as one of the "Five Great Revolutionary Operas" (Korean: 5대 혁명가극), a group of classical, revolution-themed opera repertoires well received within North Korea[1][3][4]. A film adaption of the opera starring Hong Yong-hee was made in 1972[1].
Plot edit
The story is set during the 1930s, and is based along the anti-Japanese guerrilla movement during the period of Japanese occupation in Korea[2][4][5]. A poor, rural girl to which the plot is centred on picks flowers up on the mountain every day to sell at the market, to care for her ill mother. Additionally, she also has a blind sister, and her father is deceased. Her mother is in debt to the landlord, and so is bankrupt and unable to purchase food. The landlord's subordinates frequently harass the girl and call for her to work for them, to which her mother refuses. The girl then finds her blind sister attempting to earn money by singing on the street, to her anger.
Eventually, she collects enough money to purchase medicine for her ill mother, but by the time she returns, her mother had already died. The landlord's wife becomes very sick, and suspects that the flower girl's blind sister is possessed by the spirit of her deceased mother, and so arranges for her to be frozen to death in the snow. When the flower girl returns home and asks where her sister had gone, the landlord's subordinates chain her up. At this moment, her brother, who had joined the Revolutionary Army, returns home to visit family when he realises that the flower girl had been locked up, and so organises a group of villagers to overthrow the landlord.
Creation edit
According to Kim Il-sung's personal memoirs, he personally created the ideas and foundation for the play himself whilst in a Jilin prison during the 1930s[6][2]. The first section of his 1992 memoir "With the Century" (Chinese: 与世纪同行), entitled "Anti-Japanese Revolution" (Chinese: 抗日革命), notes that[7]:
"There was a time during our country's independence movement where we held on to our vision to build an "ideal village" concept... At the time, we adopted the Korean students in Jilin to teach village people to sing a large variety of revolutionary songs, such as the Red Flag Song and Revolution Song. It was during this time that I was completing the script for The Flower Girl, which I had started whilst I was in Jilin City."
Although it is commonly stated that Kim Il-sung was the sole author of the production, many critics in China cast doubts over the reliability of the claim, and suggest that other North Korean writers may have also had some form of interaction in the opera's production.
According to official North Korean reports, in April 1968, Kim Jong-il suggested that another revolutionary opera, "Sea of Blood", be adapted for a film. Since then, other works have also been adapted into movies "under his guidance", including The Flower Girl[8][4][9]. The opera was intended to promote the communist ideology, by incorporating themes such as the class struggle against the bourgeois[10]; such themes were similarly maintained in the film[8].
In April 1972, the film adaptation was officially launched.
Reception edit
The opera was well received in the People's Republic of China when it was introduced there since September 9, 1972, predominantly during the era of Deng Xiaoping's rule, where it was known by the name of The Flower-selling Girl (Chinese: 卖花姑娘; Pinyin: mài huā gū niang)[2][8][11][12]. A number of theatrical tours were made in China, which were performed in 1973, 1998, 2002 and 2008[8][13]. In 2009, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was recieved by Hong Yong-hee during his visit to North Korea.
As of 2008, the opera has been performed over 1,400 times in North Korea and more than 40 other countries[2], mostly Eastern Bloc states.
References edit
- ^ a b c 가극 작품 - NK Chosun
- ^ a b c d e 2008年03月26日, 金日成原创《卖花姑娘》5月上海唱响《卖花歌》 - 搜狐娱乐
- ^ 전영선 (2004년 5월 5일). 〈제7부 북한의 가극 - 제1장 피바다식 혁명가극의 개념〉, 《북한의 문학과 예술》. 서울: 역락. ISBN 8955562926
- ^ a b c 2008年03月26日, 杭州大剧院春季演出季－朝鲜歌剧《卖花姑娘》 - 浙江在线新闻网
- ^ 2008年04月15日, 朝鲜歌剧《卖花姑娘》在京演出 刘云山出席观看 - Phoenix TV
- ^ "With the Century" - Complete biography of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung - Korea-DPR.com
- ^ [朝]金日成:与世纪同行，郑万兴译，北京：中国社会科学出版社，1994年.
- ^ a b c d 2008年04月08日, 朝鲜经典歌剧《卖花姑娘》再次巡演中国 - 人民网 文化
- ^ 2008年10月20日, 领袖缔造文化 金正日导演《卖花姑娘》? - Phoenix TV
- ^ 2008.04.17, (记者手册)“卖花姑娘”让中国观众回忆革命 - 韩国朝鲜日报中文网络版
- ^ 2008-6-4, 难忘的演出 动情的告别——《卖花姑娘》中国巡演闭幕演出见闻 - 中国文化报
- ^ 2008-04-30, 中서 '대장금'은 조선족 드라마, 北의 '꽃파는 처녀'도 조선족 연극? - Mydaily
- ^ 2008年05月30日, (娱眼观点)：朝鲜《卖花姑娘》 为何畅销中国 - XINHUA
Further reading edit
- 이종석 (1997년). 《조선로동당연구》. 서울: 역사비평사, 54쪽. ISBN 9788976961068
See also edit