[Kim Daesik·Kim Hyeyeon's AHA] Theater Is One of the Few Arts That Survive Even If Civilization Is Reset

(16) Theater and Musical Director Lee Daewoong

Editor's NoteAsia Economy is exploring how rapidly advancing generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the field of artistic creation, and what questions 'humans' should consider, from the perspectives of both engineers and artists. To this end, we have launched a monthly feature in which Professor Kim Daesik of the School of Electrical Engineering at KAIST and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon (CEO of Yeonist) engage in conversations or debates with fellow art creators about their works. The title of this series, 'AHA', stands for 'AI, Human & Art.' We hope that, through Professor Kim Daesik, who passionately explores the future of generative AI, and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon, who boldly fuses generative AI with dance, readers can take a step closer to the profound questions surrounding AI, humanity, and art.

[Kim Daesik·Kim Hyeyeon's AHA] ?Theater and Musical Director Lee Daewoong

A director who envisions the future through staging the classics
In the age of AI, does theater still direct humanity?

Lee Daewoong is the resident director of the theater company 'Traveler', and has been carrying out flexible work that crosses genres, from theater to musicals, dance, and music theater. With an exceptional sense for reinterpreting classical literature and texts in a contemporary way, he creates stages that transform stories of the past into questions about today's sensibilities, technology, and the human condition.

He believes that performing arts always show something beyond imagination, and hopes that both audiences and creators will experience the power of that encounter. The sensibility and aesthetics he has accumulated through participating in more than 50 productions have been fully demonstrated in works such as <The Two Gentlemen of Verona> and <Ugly Man, Beautiful Woman>.

Through the musical <Let Me Fly>, he explored new stage languages, and following the recent revival of the play <Cyrano de Bergerac>, he continues to expand his directorial approach with musicals such as <Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight>. For him, directing is ultimately an act of constantly asking, 'What does it mean to be human, right now?'

Director Lee Daewoong is interviewing Professor Kim Daesik and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon at the Artists' House in Daehangno, Jongno, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

-Your works seem to share a common foundation in 'literature' and 'the classics.' Is there a particular reason you chose this basis?

▲I think my childhood environment had a significant influence on that. When I was young, as long as I had a bicycle, I would roam all around the neighborhood. One day, I happened to wander into the local library, where I encountered books and classic films. I started reading literary works as if I were possessed. Back then, I didn't know 'why' I was reading; I just wanted to know more about everything.

Especially around the second year of middle school, I became so absorbed in books at the library that I read almost everything there. The world was interesting, and I was curious about so many things. I also have strong memories of going to the movies with my father every weekend. We mostly watched classic films, and as these experiences accumulated, literature and the classics naturally took root within me.

Later, when I started working as a director, I initially felt a bit pressured to develop my own unique style. When I realized that this was unnecessary, the first thing I was drawn to was staging novels. Rather than forcing myself to choose a theme as a director, I simply returned to the place where I felt most comfortable and had spent the most time. Since then, I have consistently developed an approach of reading novels as theater through my ongoing connection with literature.

Even if civilization is completely reset, what remains is ultimately 'the body'

-Books are a medium enjoyed alone, but directing is about sharing with others. Did you ever struggle with bringing such intimate emotions onto the stage?

▲That's true. At first, I also enjoyed the intimacy that books provided and was used to keeping that world to myself. But as I began directing, my attitude naturally changed. Directing is something you can never do alone. You have to open up your thoughts and feelings, and work together with other artists as they fill the work with their own language through you.

Director Lee Daewoong is interviewing Professor Kim Daesik and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon at the Artists' House in Daehangno, Jongno, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

As a result, at some point, I started to open up my own sensibilities first and naturally shifted to sharing stories and work together. Moreover, I am not a director who writes original scripts; rather, I reinterpret existing stories and bring them to the stage. So, it became important for me to accept and share how these stories are transformed and what kind of tone they take as they pass through me.

I believe the stage is ultimately a space where the individual sensibility of 'me' faces the world. If Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage," I think the reverse is also possible. Some plays create a reality on stage that is even more powerful than the world itself.

There was a performance of Shakespeare's The Tempest at the Mali Theater that was exactly like that. It was a collaboration between Russian method actors and the UK's top Shakespeare director. The first 15 minutes were so quiet they were almost boring. But from the moment one actor quietly stood up, the entire flow began to change, like the rhythm of a storm. At that moment, every beat, rhythm, and movement on stage felt like one enormous structure. I realized then that the stage can become the world itself, or a mirror reflecting the world. That experience still serves as an important reference point for me as a director.

Director Lee Daewoong is interviewing Professor Kim Daesik and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon at the Artists' House in Daehangno, Jongno, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

-Your work seems to differ in tone from previous generations of theater, which often emphasized messages. What do you think is the 'attitude of contemporary theater'?

▲I believe I have lived in a very different era from the previous generation. We did not experience the turbulent political situations or rapid social changes that they did firsthand. In that sense, I think our generation had much more 'time to refine' things.

I believe that art can not only diagnose the times and pose questions, but also delicately recreate and interpret the sensibilities of those living in the era. Rather than theater that directly delivers a message, I find it more beautiful when meaning is reached naturally by carefully building up various elements on stage.

That's why I believe theater is a 'comprehensive art.' It must include music, art, literature, the body, and lighting. It is disappointing when those diverse components are excluded because of an overemphasis on a particular message. I think the message should be something you arrive at naturally, not the starting point.

The message is something you arrive at naturally, not the starting point

-When staging the classics, how do you bridge the gap in era and sentiment? And do you have concerns about the AI generation and future audiences?

▲That's right. By nature, the classics are stories removed from the present, and when you put them on stage, there is inevitably a conflict. My job is to match the stories that arise from this gap to today's audience, so I spend a lot of time thinking about the 'attitude of matching.'

I once imagined, 'What if art stopped worldwide for 48 hours?' When you think about it, you realize just how much we rely on art for our senses. The classics are great texts for reviving those senses. But they must be redesigned with today's perspectives and structures.

At the same time, I think there is also a 'desire to see the unfamiliar because it is from the past.' I see this as humanity's desire for time travel. Staging the classics today is ultimately about sensually expanding the layers of time.

Future generations, on the other hand, are those who have grown up with AI rather than analog experiences. What they need is a sensory experience of humanity. That's why I believe a time will come when analog experiences?body, sound, gaze, breath?will be even more necessary. That is also the role of the classics.

Director Lee Daewoong is interviewing Professor Kim Daesik and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon at the Artist's House in Daehangno, Jongno, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

-Do you have any plans to use AI in your works?

▲I don't think of AI as just a tool. The attitude of simply saying, "Summarize this for me, write this sentence," has become less appealing to me. Instead, I want to form a 'relationship' with AI in a fun way, even become friends with it.

If I need to write something, rather than seeking a one-sided, simple outcome like "summarize this in a minute," I think it would be more meaningful to search for learning processes together, expand on them, sometimes take leaps, and travel through various fields?whether work, study, or hobbies?as companions. That would make for a much more meaningful encounter.

Even if I don't know what the outcome will be, I hope more people will share the attitude of enjoying the process of 'playing' with AI itself, as the results from this experience can be significant. The reason I value this process of forming relationships is because, if you only see AI as a tool for results, you'll just move on to a better tool when one appears. Therefore, if we expand algorithms as companions, I am definitely open to using AI in my works.

Director Lee Daewoong is interviewing Professor Kim Daesik and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon at the Artist's House in Daehangno, Jongno, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

-If there were no practical limitations, what kind of stage or play would you most like to create?

▲I would really love to create a perfectly realized 100% analog stage at least once. In an environment dominated by digital technology, it has actually become most difficult to achieve a truly 'real' sensory experience.

I want to create a new theater, like the indoor theaters of the Renaissance, where every stage device is operated by human hands and senses, and perform the classics there. I would also like the structure of the stage itself to expand according to the journey of a single character. As the actor becomes more skilled, the stage is completed alongside them.

I want to build a theater within a theater, where the stage and backstage are transparently connected, and analog and digital coexist. On such a stage, technology, the body, humanity, and space would intersect in entirely new ways, providing an opportunity to understand where our origins come from.

-In this rapidly changing era, what would you most like to say to the next generation dreaming of theater?

▲Young people today experience so much from an early age and grow up under so many conditions. But I think it's even more important to ask questions from a place of 'having nothing.'

Let's imagine civilization has been completely reset. There's no electricity, no smartphones, no sets?if you were told to do theater in that state, what would you choose? Where would you start? I often ask myself that question.

Director Lee Daewoong is interviewing Professor Kim Daesik and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon at the Artist's House in Daehangno, Jongno, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

When knowledge remains but tools are gone, when only the senses are left, what we can rely on is ultimately 'the body.' Realizing this makes me feel again just how fundamental the essence of theater is. I believe theater is one of the few arts that can survive even when technology disappears.

So, to those starting out in theater, I want to say: trust in the 'sensation of the body' and the 'desire to speak' before equipment or theory. That is an area AI cannot replace, and I believe such sensibilities are the very archetype of art that can survive into the future.

Kim Daesik, Professor at KAIST School of Electrical Engineering · Kim Hyeyeon, Choreographer (CEO of Yeonist)