Mapping the Chinese Trajectory of Korean Theatre Historiography: Perspectives, Challenges, and Prospects

As a crucial component of cross-cultural knowledge production, the study of Korean theatre history has long remained on the margins of Chinese academia. Since the pioneering works of Kim Jae-cheol and Yi Du-hyeon, four generations of Korean scholars have progressively established a relatively comprehensive research genealogy, offering valuable reference points for Chinese scholars and prompting renewed reflection on how “Korean theatre history” is defined and studied across linguistic and medial boundaries. In recent years, as Korean Studies has gained broader traction in China, research concerning Korean theatre history has begun to emerge more visibly. Current scholarship tends to focus on the ritual and folkloric functions of traditional theatre, cross-cultural aesthetic comparisons of visual elements, and the entanglements between modern theatre institutions and national cultural policies. These studies also reveal a methodological shift from text-centered approaches toward more dynamic structures that prioritize performance practices, embodied expression, and audience reception.<br/> Against this backdrop, future inquiries into Korean theatre history must further expand the field’s epistemological horizons. Key directions include re-examining the construction of “tradition” and “origins” beyond a unilinear modernist framework; disrupting dominant historical periodizations in favor of more nuanced attention to marginal forms and neglected practices; and re-situating Korean theatre history within broader Sino-Korean and East Asian cultural constellations. Such efforts will not only revitalize the theoretical landscape of Korean theatre historiography but also contribute to a more expansive and dialogic configuration of Chinese scholarship in this field.