As a crucial component of cross-cultural knowledge production, the study of Korean theatre history has long remained on the margins of Chinese academia. Since the pioneering works of Kim Jae-cheol and Yi Du-hyeon, four generations of Korean scholars have progressively established a relatively comprehensive research genealogy, offering valuable reference points for Chinese scholars and prompting renewed reflection on how “Korean theatre history” is defined and studied across linguistic and medial boundaries. In recent years, as Korean Studies has gained broader traction in China, research concerning Korean theatre history has begun to emerge more visibly. Current scholarship tends to focus on the ritual and folkloric functions of traditional theatre, cross-cultural aesthetic comparisons of visual elements, and the entanglements between modern theatre institutions and national cultural policies. These studies also reveal a methodological shift from text-centered approaches toward more dynamic structures that prioritize performance practices, embodied expression, and audience reception.
Against this backdrop, future inquiries into Korean theatre history must further expand the field’s epistemological horizons. Key directions include re-examining the construction of “tradition” and “origins” beyond a unilinear modernist framework; disrupting dominant historical periodizations in favor of more nuanced attention to marginal forms and neglected practices; and re-situating Korean theatre history within broader Sino-Korean and East Asian cultural constellations. Such efforts will not only revitalize the theoretical landscape of Korean theatre historiography but also contribute to a more expansive and dialogic configuration of Chinese scholarship in this field.

作为跨文化知识建构的一环, 韩国戏剧史研究在中国学界长期处于边缘地带。韩国本土学界自金在喆、李杜铉以来, 历经四代学者的系统推进, 逐步构建起较为完整的研究谱系, 为中国学界提供了理解韩国戏剧史的重要参照, 也促使研究者在跨语言与跨媒介的对话中, 重新思考“韩国戏剧史”这一概念的界定方式与研究路径。近年随着韩国学研究的拓展, 中国学界中围绕“韩国戏剧史”展开的探讨逐渐显现。现有研究主要集中于传统戏剧的民俗功能、视觉美学的跨文化比较, 以及近现代演剧制度与国家文化政策之间的关联, 并呈现出从文本中心主义向演出机制、身体表现、观众接受等动态结构转向的趋势。在此基础上, 韩国戏剧史研究的未来路径有待进一步打开：包括重视“传统”与“起源”的建构逻辑, 摆脱以现代性为唯一基准的叙述框架；打破宏观历史的线性分期, 转向对“边缘形式”与“被忽略之物”的史学定位；并尝试将韩国戏剧史重新嵌入中韩、东亚文化结构之中。如此才能为“韩国戏剧史”的研究注入新的理论活力, 推动中国学界的相关研究走向更加开放与深入的知识建构。