#등등곡

[deulleya]

"people don't seem like people."

the twelfth instalment of my musical translation series — a gathering of scholars, in an inequitable world, and the political conflicts that ensue.

the videos are not mine, but all translations are my own.

musical: deungdeunggok (등등곡) (登登曲)

cast: [kim yeongwoon] kim jaebeom, yoo seunghyun, kim zychul • [choi yoon] kim bada, jeong jaehwan, ahn jeehwan • [cho] kang chan, park junhwi, kim seohwan • [jeong jinmyeong] park sunyeong, kim kyungrok • [yi gyeongshin] hwang doohyun, lim taehyun

synopsis: 1591, joseon. in the capital city of hanyang, young scholars gather unbeknownst to others. wearing strange masks, they begin a pastime of song and dance, termed deungdeunggok. "people are not people. since there is no meaning after death, let us play while we live!" and so the four noblemen's sons and one serf play, each of them concealing secrets and ambitions that may soon fracture them along political factions...

production: ninestory (twitter / youtube)

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등등곡 (登登曲) – deungdeunggok

yoo seunghyun as kim yeongwoon, jeong jaehwan as choi yoon, park junhwi as cho, kim kyungrok as jeong jinmyeong, lim taehyun as yi gyeongshin

[Jeong Jinmyeong] Today, too, you’ve worked hard acting like scholars!

[Yi Gyeongshin] Commence the scene! The eodukshini has arrived

[Cho] Open the gates! The revered ghosts have come

[Choi Yoon] Lay down your lives! The phantoms are watching

[Kim Yeongwoon] Play the music! The dokkaebi are dancing

[All] People don’t seem like people People don’t seem like people People don’t seem like people

[GS] Once you’re dead, what use is it all!

[JM] While you’re alive, enjoy it to the fullest!

[GS] Commence the scene! The eodukshini has arrived [C] Open the gates! The revered ghosts have come [Y] Lay down your lives! The phantoms are watching [YW] Play the music! The dokkaebi are dancing

[GS] Dance, with excitement [C] Sing, till your throat rips [Y] Eat, till your stomach bursts [JM] Get drunk on wine [YW] Till you die

[GS] Dance, with excitement [C] Sing, till your throat rips [Y] Eat, till your stomach bursts [JM] Get drunk on wine [YW] Till you die

[All] A reign of peace, a reign of peace Peace in the world, peace in the world

People don’t seem like people People don’t seem like people People don’t seem like people

[YW] Once you’re dead, what use is it all Enjoy it now!

[ in korean folklore, the eodukshini is a spectre that dwells in the darkness and grows larger when perceived. the dokkaebi is a goblin-like ghoul that enjoys both tricking and helping humans. ]

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그런 세상 – a world like that

jeong jaehwan as choi yoon, kim seohwan as cho

[Choi Yoon] A world without sorrowful acts, or sorrowful ones A world without wrongful acts, or wronged ones Where anyone can laugh and chatter And dance and sing to their heart’s content A world like that; if such a world comes If it could truly change Could we live in such a world?

[Cho] In such a world Where a son can call his mother’s name aloud In such a world Where one can live on, not hating one’s father, but loving him without holding back

[C (Y)] Like that (like that) Freely (freely)

[Y/C] A world like that A vast world that embraces all its people Such a world, that we dream of together

[Choi Yoon] That is the path toward your convictions. Do not apologise, and till the very end, do not falter. …Let us meet again on a better day.

[Choi Yoon] A world without forlorn acts, or forlorn ones A world without woeful acts, or woeful ones Where anyone can laugh and chatter And dance and sing to their heart’s content

[Y/C] A world like that; if such a world comes

[Cho] Could we become friends, then?

[Choi Yoon] I shall live, simply, without holding back

[Cho] If such a world comes

[Y] A world that we wish for [C] That we wish for

[Y/C] A world like that

[ original korean lyrics here. ]

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그래도 가겠다 – even so, i will go

kim jaebeom as kim yeongwoon, jeong jaehwan as choi yoon, kang chan as cho

[Kim Yeongwoon] The night deepens, and the path is erased The wind stops, and the cloud halts in its tracks What was I hoping for, that I came all the way here? In this darkness, I wander, lost

[Choi Yoon] I held fast to my will, but the path disappeared I harboured a dream, but I stood facing a wall Was what I hoped for all an illusion? Within this darkness, I am trapped

[YW] I cannot see, even an inch ahead

[Y] I cannot go, even a step forward

[YW, Y] A world in which we are born as people Then live and die as people Can I not go to such a world?

[Cho] Even so, I will go I will go to you Even if this fate has already diverged Even if this fate’s end is already set in stone Ah, I will go to you For you are someone who came to me I will go to you

[YW] Even if I cannot see

[Y] Even if I cannot go

[All] Even if there is no path I will go where my will leads me A world in which we are born as people Then live and die as people Towards such a world, I

[YW / Y / C] Even so, I will go Till the end / To tomorrow / I will go to you

[YW] Even if this fate has already diverged Even if this fate’s end is already set in stone

[YW / Y / C] Till the end / To tomorrow / I will go to you

[All] For it is a destiny that came to me I will go

I will go, through this darkness Putting my all on the line Even so, I will go

[ jeong jaehwan focus cam here, kim jaebeom focus cam here ]

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영운 (嶺雲) – yeongwoon

yoo seunghyun as kim yeongwoon

That cloud, above the mountain ridges, which embroidered the midday The sun sets; to where is it bound? It seems that cloud, which embraced the azure skies Failed to rise fully above the sky

Is this Heaven’s will? A purpose unable to be fulfilled? Perhaps the destiny bestowed upon me Is a forlorn, preordained fate Had it been an ending written in stone?

Come, cloud, rise above the skies Rise further, rise beyond the skies The pledge I swore, to establish A world where all stand beneath the sky And all are equal

Come, cloud, rise above the skies Rise further, rise beyond the skies Come, unfurl a new sky And unfold a new era I bury this vow in my chest So that I may remember it in my next life Shame on you! I shall watch what will become of you

With these hands, I opened this chapter And so, with these hands, I shall close it

[ kim zychul's version here, studio version here. ninestory please give us kim jaebeom's version too ]

[yuryeongseon]

why did i think it would be a good idea to translate a joseon-era musical. several numbers at that. w h y

don't get me wrong i love 등등곡 a lot and am having fun translating but

(points at historical terms and old grammar conventions and hanja phrases and—)