Between Bookshop and Theatre — A Small Stage Built of Plays, Inscript

Between Bookshop and Theatre — A Small Stage Built of Plays, Inscript

Before the curtain rises, a single spotlight falls on the darkened stage. The protagonist is the play itself. We met Park Sein and Kwon Juyoung, the married couple who run Inscript, a bookstore specializing in plays in Ihwa-dong, for a conversation about scripts and theater, bookstores and stages, travel and everyday life.

Interviewer Ryu Sunwoo
Interviewee Park Sein, Kwon Juyoung (Owners of Inscript)

What made you decide to open a bookstore specializing in plays?
Juyoung I think the biggest reason has to do with our main occupations—we're both in theater professionally. Having spent a long time in the theater industry, we always thought about how theater could be loved by more people. Even before theater itself, we felt it was a shame that the genre of plays remained so niche in Korea. We wanted to introduce it to people and spread the word, and that eventually led us to build this space.

You recently relocated—was there a reason for moving from Yeonhui-dong to Daehak-ro?
Sein Actually, I think we got the opposite question more often—why we settled in Yeonhui-dong instead of Daehak-ro in the first place. At the start, we wanted to try starting out on the west side of Seoul, and since that's also where we lived, we began in Yeonhui-dong. As we kept running the store, we realized that to actively meet more people, it would be better to move to Daehak-ro. The Yeonhui-dong space was so small that it would fill up with just five or six people. We felt that a larger space would be better both for customers browsing books and for hosting various events or performances, so we relocated.

What criteria do you use to curate books at Inscript?
Sein Since it's a bookstore for plays, we naturally focus on bringing in plays. We try to bring in a wide variety, from new releases to classic plays, to show as much range as possible. We also try to cover film-related books almost as much as plays. For other genres, since shelf space is limited, we curate those more carefully. The curation theme changes depending on the season—right now we have the entire Moonji Publishing 'Chaeseokjang' series displayed by collection.

I was surprised by how many film-related books you have. Is that because film and theater are closely connected?
Juyoung It's the result of thinking about how people approach the genre of plays. I think a film screenplay is almost the same form of literature as a play, even though the genres differ slightly. Fundamentally, both take a written story and turn it into a finished work through actors' performances, so we placed just as much emphasis on film as on theater.

Who are the people who visit Inscript? Has there been any change before and after the move?
Juyoung I don't think it's changed that much. The people who used to visit us in Yeonhui-dong still come to find us even though we're farther away now, and we're really grateful for that.
Sein Even in Yeonhui-dong, we had more visitors coming from far away for plays or screenplays than local residents. So in a sense, many of them have actually become closer to us now. And we're also seeing more people stop by while they're out watching a show in Daehak-ro.

I'm curious about the daily routine of running Inscript.
Juyoung I think our routine is probably similar to that of other bookstore owners. We order books, pull the list of delivered books to check if any are damaged, and shelve them properly. We also think about which books to feature each month and write introductions for them. What's a bit different from a typical bookstore owner is that we go see a lot of performances. The store closes at 7 p.m. because shows usually start at 8 p.m.—we have to go watch them. (Laughs) By going to see plays, we keep track of which scripts are currently being staged. That's probably the part of our routine that's a bit different.

You offer free venue rental and host performances for creators—was there anything you paid particular attention to when designing the space for this?
Sein First, we thought about securing enough seating. The table in the center of the store is round, but it's designed to split apart like slices of pizza so it can be disassembled during performances. We also arranged the chairs by the window to be higher, so they function like elevated seating, creating a stepped, theater-like effect. We wanted it to work like furniture on a flexible stage that could be used in different ways.
Juyoung Since Yeonhui-dong, if you could call it ambition, we've paid a lot of attention to making the space usable in as many different ways as possible. One characteristic is leaving the center as open as we can. We've tried to make it so that people who want to do something with this space can use it freely.

I was a little surprised to see that you offer free venue rental for creators. It couldn't have been easy to decide to offer that for free—was there a particular reason you decided to do it?
Juyoung One of the things we wanted most while running a bookstore for plays was for this to be a space used by creators. We wanted it to be a place where they could freely use it and where interesting things could happen as a result. I think money is still the hardest issue for creators. Even if they want to do something, they're often held back by financial difficulties, so we thought it would be good if we could offer even a little bit of space and time.

Plays include stage directions that describe expressions, emotions, or states of mind that are hard to convey through writing. From an actor's perspective, how do plays feel to work with?
Sein For actors, plays are such a familiar form of writing. It's one of the texts we read most often, given that it's our profession. While preparing to open the store, I really came to realize that plays aren't read very much as general reading material. So I had a strong desire to use this space to show people that plays can be read in a more enjoyable way. They're very precious and fun to me. That said, I do think there are difficult aspects to them. That's why we hold reading groups and create opportunities for people to read together.

Is there a character from a play that has stayed with you?
Juyoung Actually, this is the first time I've been asked this question. (Laughs) I'll mention a book by Juan Mayorga called 'Reikjavik', which I read not long ago, and I personally love this playwright. There's a character named Immanuel in this work. He's portrayed as a balanced character, yet at the same time indecisive and full of worries. I think life itself is a constant series of worries and moments of choice. Through Immanuel, I feel the work reveals that life requires us to keep worrying and keep making choices. That's why he's been the most interesting character to me recently.
Sein I'll pass on picking a character. It feels too difficult.
Juyoung That's because she has too many characters she likes. (Laughs)

Do you have a favorite playwright, or a book you personally treasure?
Sein Lately I've come to love the work of Tiago Rodrigues. His book 'Sopro' is great too, but 'Bayhart' is really something special. Rather than a conventional narrative, it's more like a composed script where he, as director, writer, and actor all at once, records the way he performed. He brings together various literary works while also weaving in his own autobiographical story, and it's so concise yet wonderful. It's a work where you can picture the performance unfolding before your eyes just from reading it.

There must be a difference between Korean plays and translated foreign plays as well.
Sein The genre of drama stands somewhere between a script and literature. It's meant to be read as a book, but it's also meant for staging, so I imagine translators face a lot of dilemmas. In particular, whether to keep the colloquial speech as is, or to lean more toward reflecting the writer's intent even if it comes across as stiffer. Since plays are mostly dialogue, the feel can change quite a bit depending on the translation.
Jooyoung With classics, there tend to be a lot of different translators. If you actually read them, they can vary quite a bit from translator to translator. Plays definitely seem to leave more room for interpretation, since there's so much hidden beneath the surface.
Sein I think that's part of why plays can feel intimidating to approach. One of the barriers to entry I think of is that plays don't kindly lay out explanations from the start, and in that sense, they share something with poetry.

Do you two like to travel? Do you have a favorite destination?
Jooyoung We're addicts. (laughs) Travel addicts. So the most painful part of opening the bookstore has been not being able to travel. We used to really love long trips, month-long trips, but we can't do that now, so we're full of longing to travel.
Sein There are still so many places we haven't been, so we want to travel even more.

Is there anywhere you'd like to go recently?
Jooyoung A place we often talk about wanting to visit together is Türkiye. We have a friend who actually brought us together, and she's living in Türkiye now. Every time her Instagram stories come up, the market scenes, food, and nature in Türkiye look so beautiful that we keep thinking about going. First, I'd love to go to Istanbul and do a food tour. Since Türkiye is a place where Europe and Asia mix together, I'm also really curious about its unique culture and landscapes.

Since you call yourselves addicts, I'm curious—among the places you've been, is there one that has stayed with you or that you'd like to visit again?
Jooyoung There are too many... Ubud in Bali, and...
Sein For me, Tioman Island in Malaysia.
Jooyoung Right, Tioman Island. The sea there is so beautiful. There weren't even lifeguards on the beach—it was just pure, untouched nature. We went snorkeling and there were unbelievably beautiful corals and fish everywhere. I came back with mixed feelings about that untouched natural beauty.

Sounds like you prefer laid-back destinations?
Sein I used to travel to a lot of cities too. One of my favorite cities is Bangkok. I do think I'm drawn to warm-weather countries. But gradually I've been leaning more toward places that are just... nature, nature.
Jooyoung I think that happens more as you get older. (laughs) I didn't realize it either, but cities have gradually started to feel more difficult for me.

Is there a book or item you always pack when traveling?
Jooyoung I always bring one book. It's not so much that I love and adore books above all else—it's more that I always dream of reading while traveling. I usually bring thick books that I've wanted to read but never had time for, or ones I'd never actually pick up at home.
Sein I tend to bring books that match the mood of the destination. Like if I'm going to a forest, I'll bring a book about forests. It's like reading in 4D.

Are your travel styles similar?
Sein Our travel styles are different. Jooyoung likes researching and planning everything out in advance, while I'm not great at planning but I love recording what happens during the trip. So I guess we split it—she's in charge before the trip, and I'm in charge after.
Jooyoung But we're alike in that we both prefer carrying a backpack over a suitcase. So we can head off anywhere, anytime, with no plans at all.

Lastly, what kind of space do you hope Inscript becomes going forward?
Jooyoung That's always a hard question for us. Not hard in a negative sense—it's hard because we're constantly thinking it over. We're not at a concrete stage yet, but we're slowly considering whether there might be ways for people to enjoy plays not just in our physical space but online as well. And at the same time, now that we've moved to Daehak-ro, we think this should be a space that anyone with even a passing interest in theater and film can easily drop by, and where they can spend comfortable, enjoyable time. That's probably the vision of Inscript we want most.