‘A Story of Man and Wife' conveys Korean realities via classical vocals

Korea Herald

2 days ago

Composer Ryu Jeajoon and lyricist Bong Joon-soo present music a drama that offers a candid reflection on housing, marriage and parenting
A couple's story unfolds through classical vocals with hyper-realistic lyrics.
Sung by beautiful voices over flowing piano melodies, the witty yet candid lyrics touch on high housing prices, interest rates, exhausting marriage preparations, child care allowances and much more.
Composed by Ryu Jeajoon, 54, with lyrics by Bong Joon-soo, 55, an English literature professor at Seoul National University, the music drama "A Story of Man and Wife" grapples with one of South Korea's biggest societal challenges: the low birth rate.
'The composer has been pondering why the birth rate is so low, and when you trace the issue down to its roots, you find that many people simply aren't dating at all,' Bong said during an interview after a rehearsal in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on June 27.
The creation of the piece involved extensive back-and-forth between Bong and Ryu as they explored the fundamental question: Why aren't young people dating?
But that doesn't mean the music drama offers a clear answer. There were no "right answers," so Bong and Ryu decided to show the reality as it is.
'I went through a lot of statistics on this issue, but I couldn't find anything I could confidently point to as the answer. Social scientists have published countless papers on why people aren't getting married, but honestly, I still don't really know,' Bong said.
'So instead of focusing on what's 'right,' I thought about what would immediately resonate with people if it were thrown out there. That's how the lyrics for a song like 'Jeonse Prices' came about — from that line of thinking.'
Jeonse is a housing rental system in South Korea where a tenant pays a large, refundable lump-sum deposit to the landlord instead of monthly rent.
Bong said that conversations with his graduate students helped him better understand the realities young people face today, while he also tried to recall his own experiences.
"A Story of Man and Wife" is the latest project by composer Ryu, who aims to diversify the classical vocal repertoire by adding Korean songs.
'Korean vocalists almost always include Schubert, Schumann and Brahms lieder in their recital programs. Yet in many cases, the audience either nods off or doesn't really understand what they're hearing. The moment that gets the biggest applause is always when they sing a Korean song as an encore," the composer added.
'There are so many great vocalists out there in Korea,' Ryu said. 'It would be wonderful if they could sing stories that are ours."
His previous music drama "Apt," a two-person music drama unveiled in 2021, deals with the country's housing issue. 'Having tackled housing issues and low birthrate, I'm thinking of addressing discrimination as the next theme," added Ryu, who also serves as the artistic director of the Seoul International Music Festival and Ensemble OPUS.
"A Story of Man and Wife" is directed by Chang Semoon, whom the composer described as meticulous and finely attuned to detail.
Chang, known for her opera work, said that "Through this work, my views on marriage and parenting have changed a lot. I used to see them purely as social issues, but perhaps because I've looked more deeply into individuals' inner lives, I now feel there are many more choices available."
"What makes this work interesting is that there's no single 'right answer,'" she added.
The 90-minute music drama, featuring 16 songs and seven piano solos, is performed by bass-baritone Han Hae-yeol and soprano Lee Sang-eun, with Lim Hyo-sun on piano.