To Be Liberated

A very beautiful, moving story, enriched with lots of culture and history. ... full review

To Be Liberated is a striking and emotionally charged performance that explores the raw terrain of personal and collective freedom. With equal parts grace and grit, the show truly led me on a journey through oppression, resistance, and the painful beauty of self-discovery. The cast delivers exceptional performances across the board, and each performer approaches their role with a raw immediacy that borders on vulnerable confession. Rather than “playing” their characters, Aubrey Kim and Karla Kim seem to inhabit them, and what I witnessed feels startlingly lived-in.... full review

I love this show. If you get a chance to see this show, do it. ... full review

AMAZING! Powerful story, beautifully acted. ... full review

A beautiful, powerful historical drama. I knew I was going to cry my eyes out—at least I was prepared for it, lol. Everything was so well done. I really appreciate when a show feels truly professional, with every single detail carefully considered. This was definitely one of those shows. Thank you for pouring so much heart and effort into it!... full review

Simply staged and beautifully acted, this emotionally powerful work delivers a huge wallop in a short time. This is how history should be taught.... full review

Amazing. Beautiful. Impactful. Emotional. Perfectly executed. I can’t wait to see what Soo does next year. ... full review

‘해방을 찾아서’는 가슴을 울리는 서사와 섬세한 연출이 인상 깊었어요. 인물 하나하나의 감정선이 살아 있어 몰입도가 높았고, 역사적 아픔을 진정성 있게 그려내 깊은 여운을 남깁니다. 오래 기억에 남을 것 같아요.... full review

I started the play with a lot of curiosity of how they are going to portray the word “liberation” but to my pleasure, in a very short 30-40 minutes, the play described a very deep and meaningful message, and the message is still with me today. I don’t think the play is just about the past, but the connection they made with living today. The word “Shinto shrine worship” exists in our lives in different ways, so the freedom that we naturally enjoy today is not as light as the content of the play. Not to mention the concentration and form of the two actors, the breathtaking directing of Gayageum and Jang-gu was beyond imagination. I think that every Korean and non Korean should see this play at least once. ... full review

Soo Chyun is a poet. “To Be Liberated” is so beautifully written, its prose so spare, every word counts. She packs a lot of history, action, and depth into this short story. Chyun is also a brilliant art director, too. The play is spoken in Korean, and the supertitles, with their handsome font, work to excellent effect. The set is simple, and like the rest of the show, boiled down to its essence: a bench on and around which the two main characters interact. I won’t say anything more about the powerful, heart-wrenching story, with a twist at the end I just wasn’t expecting and which wrecked me.... full review