Japanese play to be performed for 1st time in S. Korea

Asian Economic News, April 5, 1999

SEOUL, April 2 Kyodo A Japanese-language theatrical performance will formally take place in South Korea for the first time later this month, the writer of the play said Friday. Celebrated Korean-Japanese novelist and playwright Kohei Tsuka told reporters in Seoul his drama troupe, based in Oita, Oita Prefecture, will perform ''Baishun Sosakan'' (Prostitution Investigator) in Japanese from April 16 to 27.

A Korean version of the play, entitled ''The Detective from Pyongyang'' and starring South Korean actors selected last year through local auditions, will also be performed along with the Japanese shows. The Korean drama incorporates the theme of unification of the Korean Peninsula. ''There were many difficult problems to overcome, but I'm happy we can finally go through with the performances,'' said Tsuka, a second-generation Korean-Japanese born in Fukuoka Prefecture. ''You can't promote friendship between Japan and (South) Korea by just signing and putting a seal on a piece of paper. We must work on it on an individual level,'' he said. Tsuka debuted as a playwright in 1970 and quickly made a name for himself by becoming the youngest winner of the Kishida Drama Prize in 1973 with ''Atami Satsujin Jiken'' (The Atami Murder Case). ''Baishun Sosakan'' is based on this work. His novel ''Kamata Koshinkyoku'' (Kamata March), which depicts the lives of movie stars and the people surrounding them, won the Naoki Prize in 1981 and the Japan Academy Prize in 1983 when he adapted it as a screenplay for a film entitled ''The Fall Guy.'' Tsuka first staged a play in South Korea in April 1985 with the Korean version of ''The Atami Murder Case,'' which opened in Tokyo in April 1987 after a successful run in Seoul.