This study is aimed at grasping the characteristics of Korean and Japanese naturalism drama formed at the turning point of modern times and analyzing them in the viewpoint of dramatical history. The special features of Western naturalism drama at the formation of modern drama are the challenge to taboo of the times and reinforcement of the reality of drama.
The important works of Japanese naturalism drama were Chubouchi Syoyou’s Odongnip hana and Simamura Hogetu’s Buhwal. Odongnip hana caused the audience to sympathize through the suffering protagonist and strengthened the dramatic reality by cutting off writer’s intervention but it avoided connecting its theme with the social problems of the those days. These features of Odongnip hana were adopted into Buhwal and came to become the characteristics of ‘Japanese style naturalism drama’.
During the formation of naturalism drama in the colonized Joseon, Lee Kwangsoo’s Kyuhan, Choi Sungman’s Hwanghon, and Cho Myunghee’s Kim youngileui sa were important works. Kyuhan and Hwanghon criticized the premodern way of thinking of those days’ society through the evil effects of early marriage by match making. These works caused the audience’s sympathy using the suffering protagonist and reinforced the dramatic reality by means of explaining the protagonist’s inner state. But they also avoided linking their themes with the major contradictions of those society, which explains that Korean drama was influenced by ‘Japanese style naturalism drama’. Kim youngileui sa treating the self studying Korean student’s death in Japan had the characteristics of ‘Japanese style naturalism drama’, but it had special experience that it caused the criticism to reality when Korean audience in the colonized Joseon met Kim Youngil, the protagonist’s death.
It was the characteristic of ‘Japanese style Naturalism drama’ that it paid attention to the reinforcement of dramatic reality but its themes avoided connecting with important contradictions of those society. The spirit of challenge, the important feature of Western naturalism drama appeared weakened in ‘Japanese style naturalism drama’, which came from Chubouchi Syoyou’s ant-utilitarian point of art view. Simamura Hogetu advocated the new naturalism, reinforcing Chubouchi Syoyou’s naturalistic point of view in the theoretical aspect.
The naturalism in the colonized Joseon were influenced by ‘Japanese style naturalism’ but the experience from the performance of Kim youngileui sa awaken the importance of challenge spirit and the awareness that the people involved Singuk should treat the major contradictions of colony to them. After that, through the works like Leeyoungneo, the special features of naturalism drama in colonized Joseon which intervened actively in the social problems of those days began to be secured.
After all Japanese naturalism became strikingly weakened, passing 1910s, while the Korean naturalism drama in Colonized Joseon grew strengthened more and more in 1920s.