Moonyoung Hong is Assistant Professor in the School of English at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). She is author of Tom Murphy's Theatre of Everyday Space (Routledge, 2025) and co-editor of The Irish Pub: Invention and Reinvention (Cork University Press, forthcoming). She has published in Irish Studies Review, Comparative Drama, Études Irlandaises,The Yeats Journal of Korea, and RISE: The Review of Irish Studies in Europe. She is on the Executive Committee of the Irish Society for Theatre Research (ISTR).

The paper examines women playwrights in Northern Ireland and North Korea post Irish and Korean independence in the 20^th century. The “North” in both cases are products of their historical colonial past (Ireland under British and Korea under Japanese rule) that have become an integral part of their political and cultural landscapes. Borders and women’s position across borders become key concerns for many women writers. In Political Acts: Women in Northern Irish Theatre, Fiona Coleman Coffeey argues that the perspectives of women in the North (especially Irish nationalist feminists and unionist feminists) should be considered when discussing women playwrights. Furthermore, Northern Ireland’s status as “a not-quite or almost postcolonial nation has added another layer of complexity to the creation of women’s subjectivities and thus to their unification.” Patricia O’Connor (1905-1983), recognised for her writing for the Ulster Group Theatre, is the most produced female playwright in the North. She promoted women’s independence through critiques of issues like the failing educational system and outdated land ownership traditions, and by depicting strong, independent female characters. Park Hyun-sook (1926-2020) is a North Korean writer who migrated South after independence, becoming radicalised after the hospital she worked for was taken over by Soviet soldiers. She continued her studies and received the “Best Acting Award” for playing Nora Burke in Synge’s The Shadow of the Glen at the first national theatre competition in 1949. She was part of the foundation of “제작극회” (Drama Production Circle) and was their director from 1969-1973. The paper uses these writers as a comparative case study, exploring how “sectarianism” and “gender” intersect in their theatre practice, contributing to the debate on negotiating the “hierarchies and end(s) of colonial empire.”