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| yna@yna.co.kr 2022-07-14 10:45:14
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) --"We are planning to present a stage to comfort the spirits of many Koreans who were unfairly sacrificed as they were thought to be attacking during the Great Kanto Earthquake by saying that "the well was poisoned," or that "they set a fire."
Dancer Kim Eun-jin (49), who opens the stage "Nukjeon Arirang, Holo Arirang" for the 99th anniversary of the massacre of Koreans during the Great Kanto Earthquake in Japan on August 24 at the "Korea Cultural House (KOUS)" in Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, "It is a performance that comforts not only the victims and their families, but also all of us who have been burdened with a painful history."
The Kanto Massacre is an incident in which the Great Kanto Earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 that occurred on September 1, 1923 struck the Japanese metropolitan area and massacred Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese socialists. During that time, the independent newspaper reported that about 6,000 people were killed.
"Nukjeon," a paper doll that receives the souls of the dead is used by shamans when performing rites, and is a prop used in remembrance ceremonies.
She majored in healing dance and is working as a practical dance instructor at major universities including Myongji University and Yonsei University.
She first encountered the Kanto Massacre in 2015 when she met Shim Woo-seong, a master of one-person play and folklorist who first made the name "Samulnori."
Unable to stop the tears flowing through the dance to comfort the souls of the victims in Shim's "Unification Marriage Gut," from then on, she took up the dance as a gift and learned to dance more.
Shim, who took the lead in uncovering the unjust death of the Korean massacre in Kanto, took the lead in comforting the victims and building the "Bohwajongru" in 1985 to inform the history of Gwaneumsa, a temple in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
"I said I'll hold a stage performing the nukjin dance in front of the Bohwajongru, but my teacher passed away in 2018, and not being able to keep that promise always bothered my heart," Kim said. "I decided to hold this performance to keep that promise even though it may be late."
"I have been told from my teacher that the most important thing we need to do today in relation to the massacre of Koreans in Kanto is to rectify the history that reveals the 'truth'," she said. "Because I learned that it is important to tell the truth and convey the message of healing as a performer, I decided to hold this performance."
She also introduced the Kanto massacre when holding a remembrance event called "The Heart of Nobility" to comfort the souls of children who died in the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014. With this as an opportunity, she also performed "Holo Aririang," a memorial service for the Kanto Massacre in 2016 at Insadong, Jongno, Seoul.
Kim, who also held the Kanto Massacre Memorial Ceremony during the 1st anniversary tribute of master Shim in 2019, said that she will further refine the content and open the stage with future-oriented contents.
"Every year, I get messages from the bereaved families of the Kanto Massacre saying 'I always felt sad when September 1 approaches. I will definitely attend the memorial stage,' 'Thank you for letting the world know about the tragic death' and many more. Hearing these words really gives me strength," said Kim.
"Although it has been 99 years, this shows that the suffering has not stopped for the victims and their families," she said. "These bereaved families don't want revenge. All they want is restoration of honor and the reconciliation and forgiveness that comes from this."
In this performance, a video announcing the Great Kanto Earthquake and the massacre will be displayed on the stage, along a remorseful dance that will be held with hundreds of nukjeon dolls. There will also be monks performing Yeongsanjae to comfort the spirits in Buddhism, and the performance will end with a dance intended to create a future together in harmony between the two countries.
"Next year, which marks the 100th anniversary of the massacre, we plan to perform in Japan, where the souls of the victims are engulfed," she said. "We hope that we could support the enactment of a special law so that the truth can be revealed and the pain of the bereaved families can be relieved. Until then, I will continue to perform for the spirits."
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)
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