Theater troupe Yeonwoo In 1977, three alumni of the Seoul National University theater club, Yi (class of '70), Jung Han-ryong (class of '64) and Kim Kwang-rim (class of '71), worked together at the same company, OriCom after graduation. They decided to establish a theater company together and named it "Yeonwoo" (演友), which signifies "friends who love theater". The parents of the four founders were from Hamgyeong Province. Later, dental surgeon Oh Jong-woo, Lee Young-hoon, the director of the Gyeongju National Museum and Cho Woo-hyun, a professor at Inha University, joined the group. They were also alumni of the Seoul National University theater club. In 1978, he made his directorial debut with the play
The Sculptor and the Detective. He has directed a wide range of plays, including
The Tale of a Thief,
Mae of Cape Jangsan,
Chilsu and Mansu and
Balsam Flower Water.
Theater troupe Chaimu In 1995, the Chaimu theater group was founded by Yi with founding members including Kim Gwang-rim, Kim Seok-man and Jung Han-ryong. The group includes notable actors such as
Moon Sung-keun,
Yoo Oh-sung and
Song Kang-ho. The troupe's name, "Chaimu", means "dimensional movement stage". Their inaugural production,
Playland, was held from September 8 to October 8 at Hakjeon Blue Theater. It is based on Adol Hugard's altered worldview, aiming to resolve racial tensions between black and white races and to heal the shattered human soul through genuine confessions between the two.
Moon Sung-keun, who had been mostly active in movies and TV, took the role of Gide and returned to the theater stage after three years. Ryu Tae-ho, a young theater actor concurrently filming the movie
Porn Man, portrayed the character Marty. The five representative works of Chaimu exemplify its distinctive features. Some of these works have been performed for 25 years since their premiere, yet they continue to resonate with audiences through their diverse narratives. Unlike typical war films,
A Little Pond treats all characters as main characters without a specific protagonist. Notably, theater actors such as Moon Seong-geun, Kang Shin-il, Lee Dae-yeon and Park Gwang-jeong participated in the film out of their commitment to its significance, appearing without any guarantee. It received high praise for its authentic depiction of a hidden historical event, but it also faced criticism for its perceived lack of cinematic quality. == Filmography ==