1910년대 조선의 변사시스템 도입과 그 특징에 관한 연구

The advent of a silent-film narrator and its early features in colonial Chosun

This paper attempts to refine the existing knowledge of a silent-film narrator system in Chosun, focusing on how the system developed in the early stage of 1910s. The silent-film narrator system of Chosun was associated with Japanese film industry advancing into Chosun. In 1910, the first narrator appeared at Kyongsung Godeung Yeonyaegwan established by Japanese. There a narration was conducted in the form of a brief description prior to screening because both Japanese and Korean were its audiences. However, in 1912 when Dae Jeong Gwan for Japanese audiences only and Umigwan for Korean audiences only were established, the separation between Japanese and Korean audiences allowed narrators to comment on a film during screening. Since then until 1920s, the narration of a silent film was carried out in the various forms. In the theaters for Japanese only, there were not only expository narrators who explained scenes of western films and documentary films, but also voice acting narrators for Japanese new-school drama films and historical drama films. These voice acting narrators even staged plays on their own and combination plays for voice acting performances were also produced. However, in Korean theaters, most of narrators were expository for only western films were showed. At first, the form of a narration in Korean theaters were different from one of in Japanese theater, but soon Korean theaters also tried to adopt the voice acting narrators following the Japanese theaters. Nevertheless, the voice acting narrators and combination plays began to disappear when the theaters in Chosun were under direct management of Japanese major film studios in 1920s, for they cost high.