A Study on the Shifting Identities of Zainichi Koreans' through Jeong Ui Sin's Plays of Ineo Jeonseol and Yakiniku Dragon

정의신의 희곡에 나타난 자이니치 정체성의 변화에 대한 연구 - <인어전설>과 <야끼니꾸 드래곤>을 중심으로 -

In recent years, a Zainichi playwright Jeong Ui Sin has been very active in the Korean theatre scene. However, the production of Yakiniku Dragon-first performed in Korea in 2008-which received numerous awards both in Japan and Korea gave him the recognition of Koreans' that was long overdue. In this paper, I will look closely into his two plays-Ineo Jeonseol (1990) and Yakiniku Dragon (2008)-which was written twenty-eight years apart from each other and reveal both similarities and differences between them in terms of the formation of post-colonial Zainichi identities. And to do so, I will utilize various opinions from post-colonial theories, performance studies theories, ethnic studies theories and theories on Zainichi Koreans. In the first, introductory chapter, I will delineate the theories on which this paper is based and some common factors of Jeong Ui Sin's 1990s plays as a point of departure. Then, I will move into the second chapter in which the two plays and actual productions of them will be closely examined to reveal different types of Zainichi identities and their social and cultural place within Japan by using Millie Creighton's concept of uchi others. In the third chapter, the identities of double negative (not not) and nomadic identities that are relevant to three types of Zainichi identity formation will be discussed. The fourth chapter will debate about various scholars' speculations about the future of Zainichi Koreans' identities and, finally, illuminate the changes/shifts that Jeong Ui Sin shows in terms of his stance as a Zainichi subject. In conclusion, even though it is very hard to speculate exactly what will happen to the Zainichi identity and their existence in Japan, the differences between the two plays-especially the endings-can be interpreted as revealing the changes in Jeong Ui Sin's Zainichi identity and it certainly sheds positive light on the future of the Zainichi identity and existence.