Playwright and Director Oh Tae-seok Passes Away at Age 82

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Playwright and theater director Oh Taeseok (photo) passed away on the 28th at the age of 82.

Born in 1940 in Seocheon, Chungnam, the late Oh graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in philosophy and debuted as a playwright in 1967 when his play "Wedding Dress" won the Chosun Ilbo New Spring Literary Contest.

After receiving the Korean Daily Theater and Film Award for Best Work with the one-act play "Chobun," which depicted the burial rituals of the southern coastal region, he became the most awarded figure in the theater world. This work was also performed in the United States, marking the first overseas performance by a Korean play.

In 1972, he became the director of the Dongrang Repertory Theater and later served as a professor in the Department of Theater at Seoul Institute of the Arts. He founded the Mokhwa Repertory Company in 1984 and opened the Mokhwa Repertory Theater in 1990. He served as the representative of Seongjwa Theater in 1998, the representative of Arungguji Theater in 1999, and was the artistic director of the National Theater Company of Korea.

Oh gained fame for presenting plays that breathed new life into the Korean language. He collected various dialects from regions such as Hamgyeongdo, Jeju Island, Pyeongando, Gyeongsangdo, Jeollado, Chungcheongdo, as well as from the Korean communities in Yanbian, China, and Osaka, Japan, and developed these into theatrical language in his productions.

His published works include "Baekmagang Dalbam-e," "When the Buk Drum Sounds (Essay Collection)," and the complete collection of Oh Taeseok's plays (4 volumes). His play collections include "Bicycle," "Why Did Simcheong Throw Herself into Indangsu Twice?," "Change of Season," "Chobun," and "Tae."

Since the Me Too allegations in 2018, he is known to have lived in seclusion without issuing an apology.

The funeral is being held at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, with the departure scheduled for the morning of December 1.