What would cross your mind if someone told you what you thought was your own free will, exercised after logical analysis, is actually always influenced by a part of your unconscious mind that you do not even acknowledge? This was precisely the basis for the psychoanalytical theories prominent academics Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung advocated for. While their theories directed attention to one’s mind, which is often difficult to articulate, a performance was able to translate their ideas into an art form. Shining, a newly presented musical, is courageously attempting to convey Freud and Jung’s psychoanalytical theories through character dynamics and songs about inner conflict.

The musical Shining debuted on February 24 and is on its first run in the Daehakro scene. Performed by a cast of three on a stage decorated with two simple chairs as props and ever-changing lighting sequences, Shining tells the story of two pioneers in psychoanalysis—Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung. The narrative, loosely based on historical data, focuses on the relationship between Freud and Jung, which at first is affectionate and respectful, but later becomes turbulent due to inconsolable theoretical differences.

Despite premiering during a relatively unfortunate period when the novel coronavirus kept everyone inside their homes, on opening night, the seats were packed with musical fans hoping to have found a yet-to-be-discovered diamond in the rough. The cast’s belting vocals and passionate acting earned them many rounds of applause during the curtain call.

Interwoven Relationships Between the Characters

As the minimalistic stage production and a narrative largely based on inner conflict suggest, Shining is a character-driven play to a great degree. Hence, interpretations of the musical rely heavily on the relationships between the three primary characters, Freud, Jung, and Shadow.

Freud and Jung begin the show with a historically noted close relationship, one that can be compared to a teacher and student, even father and son. Freud is painted as a genius outcast of the academic sphere and Jung an aspiring psychoanalysis scholar in awe of Freud’s achievements. Unaggressive at first, this clear power dynamic between Freud and Jung later disrupts their peace when Jung starts to challenge his mentor’s psychoanalytic view, which reduces the cause of all human action to libido, a sexual energy. Consequently, Freud becomes intimidated by the possibility of Jung overthrowing his absolute position in psychoanalysis.

Fictional aspects of Shining, on the other hand, are all in relation to Shadow, the third main role. Perhaps best described as an avatar of Jung’s unconsciousness, Shadow appears only as a voice or hallucination of Jung’s right up to the middle of the musical. Shadow is actually a nod to Jung’s “shadow theory,” the very theory that differentiates Jung’s work from the Freudian canon. In accordance with this theory, Shadow represents all the negative aspects of Jung’s personality that he constantly tries to suppress, making his character mysterious, dark, and conflict-creating.

It was, however, a disappointment that Freud and Jung’s complex theories had to be reduced and delivered just through vague and obscure lyrics, such as “darkness” and “nightmare,” instead of jargon. Interpreting scientific theory into a few minutes of art is no easy feat; maybe the use of simpler vocabulary was unavoidable. However, that did not change the fact that song lyrics were not enough to understand these complex psychoanalysis theories without any prior knowledge.

Biographical Shows and Originality

Despite having elements such as a fictional character, Shining is still a primarily biographical show. Freud and Jung’s troublesome relationship was historically accurate, and a large portion of the lyrics were interpretations of Freud and Jung’s theories on the unconsciousness. As a biographical performance, Shining is one of many in Korea’s current musical scene.

In the last few months alone, musicals such as Marie Curie, Vincent Van Gogh, Rachmaninoff, and Sidereus, a musical based on the story of astronomers Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler, have run on the Daehakro stage. Although they do not strictly follow historical timelines, they do take from major events, relationships, and achievements of the relevant figures. Many of the performances, being small-scale due to spatial and financial limits, tend to be character-driven. Perhaps this trend is impeding the creation of original Korean musicals, different from the biographical musicals that have been rising in popularity.

Historical figures are undeniably attractive to writers and audiences not only because those characters’ physical and personality traits are predetermined, but also because there is an abundance of drama throughout the course of their life. Moreover, the creators are partly relieved of the responsibility of having to logically explain the character and plot from A to Z. Shining was not an exception as it invested more time amplifying the interior drama of Jung rather than introducing the extremely well-known relationship between the two.

However, this trend may be detrimental to the Korean musical scene, especially regarding creativity and originality in characters. While borrowing from history may be enjoyable as a passing fad, if endlessly continued, it may become repetitive material that would take up space for potentially more exciting, original characters. It is hard to disregard the somewhat inverse relationship between writing safe, acceptable historical characters, and courageous attempts at creating unique characters despite the possibility of failures, especially when quite a few outstanding original characters thrive and prove their worth in their musicals in Korea.

The word pioneer effectively describes the musical Shining; the performance is about two pioneers of psychoanalysis and also serves as a pioneer itself since it is one of the first Korean musicals to translate psychoanalysis into performing arts. As all new emergences do, Shining seems to have several faults as much as it has virtues. In order to hopefully continue to have second, third, and fourth runs, Shining will have to humbly receive constructive criticism from its audience and apply it to its production in order to truly become a production that goes west.

Performance Information

Venue: Daehakro Art One Theater 1

Date: February 24, 2020 to May 10, 2020

Running Time: 100 minutes

Ticket Price: R seat: 66,000 won, S seat: 44,000 won