On Making Things Korean: Western Drama and Local Tradition in Yi Man-hûi’s Please Turn Out the Lights

Abstract

It has become commonplace to assert that Western forms and themes have massively invaded non-Western values and worldviews. Surprisingly often in postcolonial as well as colonial criticism, the West is portrayed as the perpetrator, while the non-Western population is cast as the victim, once subjugated by Western political imperialism and now dominated by a subtle yet equally destructive cultural imperialism. It is not uncommon to hear postcolonial scholars voicing fear that Western hegemony will eventually obliterate indigenous cultural identities and their will to power.¹ From this perspective, the hegemony of the West is so extensive that it jeopardizes the very existence of non-Western cultures.