Abstract

In the late 2010s, Seomsaeksi’s script was discovered in a list of popular plays donated by Kim Tae-rang. The motif of Seomsaeksi was spread by transformation into various genres during the Japanese colonial period and the 1940s, and the discovery of this script provided an opportunity to specifically examine and discuss this spread. However, because accurately identifying this play was difficult, research centered on this script stagnated. The most urgent issue in related research was the verification of the author and performer of Seomsaeksi, the comparison with motifs of Seomsaeksi that had been studied so far, and the analysis of the process of diffusion and transformation of motifs and texts through such verification and comparison. Accordingly, this study attempted to conduct a series of comparative studies based on the popular play script Seomsaeksi. These comparative studies elucidate not only the status and value of Seomsaeksi as a popular play script but also the cultural significance of the content of Seomsaeksi within the flow of popular culture in the 1930s and the 1940s.