Crossroads of Youth/Beyonsa (1934)
Byeonsa refers to film narrator. Byeonsa performance was a mode of movie watching popular in colonial Korea. This tradition was unique to the film culture of East Asia at its early stage. As opposed to the intertitles common in Western silent film, byeonsa performance would usually include both description of events and verbalization of characters’ voices. It came to Korea via Japan—benshi—during the colonial period and Korea developed its own style of film narration with its distinctive stylistic flourishes. Byeonsas were highly trained and highly respected artists and allegedly, some of them enjoyed greater celebrity than famous actors.
About the Performance:
The Crossroads of Youth Byeonsa Performance US Tour brought its troupe from South Korea to the United States for a multi-city tour in Fall, 2022. The byeonsa troupe presented Crossroads of Youth (Cheongchunui sipjaro, Ahn Jong-hwa, 1934), Korea’s oldest surviving silent film, with live storytelling, music, and acting in accompaniment. The troupe reimagines and reconstructs byeonsa culture, Korea’s unique film watching tradition from the colonial period.
