Ithaca College

Interview: “Navigating Korea and America: Meet Hansol Jung, the Playwright of WILD GOOSE DREAMS and Cardboard Piano.”

Hansol Jung is a playwright and director from South Korea. Her plays include Wild Goose Dreams (La Jolla Playhouse, Public Theater), Cardboard Piano (Actors Theater of Louisville), Among the Dead (Ma-Yi Theater Company), and No More Sad Things (Sideshow and Boise Contemporary).

Excerpt from the Interview:

Walter Byongsok Chon: First, congratulations on the successful run of Wild Goose Dreams at the Public Theater (10/30/18.~ 12/16/18)! I watched it on 12/15/18, and, as a Korean myself, was happy to see a story that is so specifically Korean meet audience in New York City. The settings of the comic book café, PC Café, Karaoke, and Gosiwon (studio apartment made specifically for students preparing for civil service exams) made me very nostalgic because those are such integral parts of life for anyone living in Korea. How do you feel now, having experienced a successful run at the Public Theatre?

Hansol Jung: Like I was in labor for four years and the baby got born and was very pretty and then promptly left home as soon as I said, “Hello, pretty baby!”

Chon: Considering Wild Goose Dreams’ specific Korean content and setting, what was it like seeing American audiences’ enthusiastic response?  What do you think made this play connect with the audiences here?

Jung: It was crazy. Acceptance is a drug and I am now a junkie.

I was very moved to witness non-Koreans and Americans connect with this very Korean side of my work. Ultimately, Wild Goose Dreams is about aspirations and how those aspirations could cut us off from our family and original society. It is a story that resonates with New Yorkers, many of whom have left their original society to follow their aspirations.

Full Interview at: https://thetheatretimes.com/navigating-korea-and-america-meet-hansol-jung-playwright-of-wild-goose-dreams-and-cardboard-piano