Final exams are on schedule for this month and everyone probably knows that they are certainly in for an extremely stressful exam period. For those who are already planning for events to let their stress out after the exams, or even for those looking for a little time-out before really starting their studies, Baegopa 4 is here again. The new and upgraded play will certainly take care of your pre- and post-exam anxieties.

   
 

Baegopa 4 has been playing in Daehak-ro for quite some time to this day. The curtains for Baegopa 4 first opened on April 30, 2009 and the show continued as an open-run performance. Different actors have come and gone as the years passed by, but still the play keeps its place in Daehak-ro, probably as one of the longest-running series.

The Baegopa series did not start with a play however. The first three Baegopa productions were musicals, holding the title for putting on 1000 shows within the shortest time. Subsequent series, until Baegopa 8, were made as plays and had been performed until the end of last year. With the start of this year, Baegopa 4, with a bit of an upgrade, could be enjoyed again, at the Yeonjin Art Hall, in Daehak-ro.

Upon arriving at the venue, those who are new to Daehak-ro plays might feel that the art hall is smaller than expected. However, soon you will love the coziness of the theatre and learn to enjoy the comfortable atmosphere. The smallness of the venue, which can be positively interpreted as the closeness of the stage to the seats, provides the audiences the opportunity to observe the performers in live action in close proximity.

The audiences can almost hear the actors breathing in between lines and the clear and loud voices of the actors makes the audiences to become absorbed into the humorous and, at the same time, heart-warming story of Baegopa 4. The four attractive characters, Jonnasseun, Grandma, Jungja and Nanja, carry the storyline, at times serious but mostly very comedic.

The show starts with Jonnasseun’s monologue in the dark. He is a self-titled suicide-preventing detective, whose wife died because she killed herself. He carries the guilt of his wife’s death and at the same time, feels obligated to prevent such deaths from happening. He has an admirer, Grandma, who owns a bakery in town, who is in fact 25 years older than Jonnasseun. The Grandma's daughter also killed herself and her granddaughter, Nanja, grows up without enough affection. One day, Nanja meets Jungja, who tried and failed to commit suicide, and both fall in love.

   
▲ Jungja and Jonnasseun’s first encounter in the play. Provided by Baegopa 4

“Jonnasseun is a character who really yearns for love,” said Shin Ho Yong (34), who plays Jonnasseun in Baegopa 4. “He seems a bit foolish but that is his charm,” added Shin. “Grandma one-sidedly likes Jonnasseun in the story and it is a difficult kind of love,” said Kim Soo Yeon (24), who plays Grandma. “Such love is probably seen with judging eyes in society, but she expresses her love so freely and shows that her unusual love is in fact a form of true love, too.”

   
▲ Grandma is the owner of the bakery which is the main place of action in the play. Provided by Baegopa 4

Though Jonnasseun and Grandma’s relationship is very unusual, audiences will be more able to empathize with Nanja and Jungja’s love story. “Nanja has the rough character from her Grandma,” said Choi Soo Yeon (23), who plays Nanja in Baegopa 4. However, Nanja grew up in an unfortunate family, and she fills up her lack of affection through Bongshin, her stuffed dog, and Jungja, her boyfriend. Jungja grew up as an orphan and experiences failure after failure as an aspiring poet. After falling in love with Nanja at first sight, his hard life slowly changes. “Jungja’s charm is his innocence,” said Sohn Dong Hyun (22), who plays Jungja in the play.

   
▲ Nanja often talks to her stuffed dog as if it is alive. Provided by Baegopa 4

How Jungja and Nanja heal their wounds through each other looks like a classic and straight-forward storyline, but the two represent couples that we see around us and that we might have even been. The start of Jungja and Nanja’s love and how they deal with their problems can easily bring out empathy because it is so familiar. Of course, Baegopa 4 is not meant to be a serious play, and throughout the most of the play, it is filled with laughter. The exaggerated expressions of affection between Jungja and Nanja, along with Grandma’s desperate efforts to win Jonnasseun’s heart, make audiences break out in laughter.

   
▲ The casts for Baegopa 4 pose for the camera. Only these four actors appear in this play. Photographed by Park Ji Won

“The play itself is straight out about love, so that might seem a bit too much for some people. Even we, the actors, sometimes wonder if the audiences can really feel what we are trying to deliver through our performance. If you just come and watch the play without having too much thought, I think that you can really get something out of the play,” said Kim. Baegopa 4 is a play about love and it is for those who want to be reminded again that love can replenish your emotional hunger. Not only that, the play can also take care of your physical hunger, with the biscuits that the actors give out during the play.

June is a month where most—probably all—of university students are frustrated with their final exams, term papers and team projects. Rather than visiting exhibitions and plays that require another round of deep-thinking after the intense studies, receiving a care-free laughing session from the actors of Baegopa 4 might serve as the perfect remedy to round up your first semester.

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