{"product_id":"9798880701773","title":"Beyond the Sewol: Activist Theatre and Performance in South Korea and the Diaspora","description":"On the evening of April 15, 2014, the \u003ci\u003eSewol\u003c\/i\u003e ferry set sail on its overnight journey from Incheon, in northwestern South Korea, to Jeju Island, 240 miles to the south. There were 476 people on board. After receiving a distress call from a passenger onboard, Harbor Affairs at Jeju and at Jindo Island both urged the crew to prepare the passengers for evacuation. Instead, the crew instructed the passengers to stay in their cabins and wait for help. Most of the passengers heeded the instructions and died waiting for rescue.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe feelings of helplessness that many South Koreans and others felt at the sinking of the \u003ci\u003eSewol\u003c\/i\u003e were sharpened by the ways the government mishandled the disaster, which has become the most galvanizing event in contemporary South Korean history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout this roller coaster of national disaster, public outrage, hope for change, and broken promises, an activist movement has taken shape among artists working through the medium of performance to process the disaster, commemorate its victims, and advocate for public change. \u003ci\u003eBeyond the \u003c\/i\u003eSewol is the first book to spotlight this creative fluorescence of performative work, which spans the genres of theatre productions, exhibitions, interactive memorial events, site-specific public performances, street protests, and even commercial K-pop music videos. Korean artists, often working in collaboration with \u003ci\u003eSewol\u003c\/i\u003e survivors and families, have created a public memory archive countering official versions of the event. These performances have provided an arena through which the project of commemorating the \u003ci\u003eSewol\u003c\/i\u003e has been linked by activists to broader demands for changes in politics and society, especially around issues of government accountability, redress for victims, and public empathy for survivors. By identifying and analyzing a multimedia collection of performative works commemorating the \u003ci\u003eSewol,\u003c\/i\u003e this book reveals the ways activists and artists mobilizing performative strategies have labored to transform the meaning of \u003ci\u003eSewol\u003c\/i\u003e from an unresolved national trauma into a catalyst for creating a safer, fairer, and more caring society.","brand":"University of Hawaii Press, The","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46383038529777,"sku":"9798880701773","price":30.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0674\/5433\/7265\/files\/9798880701773_p0.jpg?v=1765211796","url":"https:\/\/shop.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9798880701773","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble","version":"1.0","type":"link"}