This fall, the Mapo Cultural Foundation and the Arts Center will stage Tennessee Williams' masterpieces 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and 'The Glass Menagerie'. Both works are set against a backdrop of the 1930s-40s, a time when economic instability threatened human dignity, but they have deep relevance to today's Korean society. 'A Streetcar Named Desire' depicts violence and lack of compassion in the midst of endless competition for survival, while 'The Glass Menagerie' emphasizes the importance of empathy and compassion through characters trapped in escapism and inferiority. The two works reflect contemporary social issues in Korea, such as economic recession, social immobility, and housing insecurity among young people, reminding us of the need to rediscover human compassion and empathy even amidst a harsh survival logic.
