I n 1891, Germany was a realm where the adults held all the cards. The confrontation between coercive adults and sexually awakened adolescent students frankly shows the suffocating atmosphere of that time. The adults tried to control and discourage teenagers so that they could not establish a self-identity by being true to themselves. Therefore, the teenagers had no choice but to be ignorant and act on impulse, which gave rise to a lot of complications. The controversial rock musical Spring Awakening depicts many complicated matters including abortion, suicide, and homosexuality in 19th century Germany. It is based on the German playwright Frank Wedekind’s play of the same title. Spring Awakening unfolds with three main characters at the center: Wendla, Melchior, and Moritz. The story develops as the young, beautiful, and innocent girl Wendla Bergman experiences a secondary character within herself due to emotional changes. She looks at herself in a mirror, smoothly exploring her body in the first scene. She has heard that her sister is pregnant and has a baby girl brought by the stork. On that account, she asks her mom, out of curiosity, where babies come from. However, her mom is too embarrassed to say anything about it. Without knowing the facts, Wendla and her friends chat about these matters. The next scene is set in a conservative boys’ school. Moritz Stiefel dozes off in Latin class, and the teacher embarrasses him by making him recite Latin in front of the entire class. His friend Melchior Gabor helps him by doubting the teacher’s interpretation of the text. The boys in their class chatter about secretive matters, and Moritz comes clean about the reason for his recent problems of insomnia; he constantly has rather obscene dreams about a pair of woman’s legs in blue stockings. The other boys also share their erotic fantasies, through an impressive rock song “The Bitch of Living”. Elsewhere, Wendla and her friends talk about the boy they secretly have a crush on while wandering through the woods. All of them like Melchior. At this stage, the boys and girls both begin to realize overwhelming emotions that are unfamiliar but pleasant. In the meantime, the inflexible principal and one of the teachers express their concern over brilliant Melchior, since Moritz has a demoralizing influence on him. They believe that Moritz will probably fail an important examination. Contrary to the teachers’ expectations, Moritz passes his examination. Thus, he is in rapture after passing the exam. However, the teachers are afraid of what Moritz’s advancement to the next grade will do to the school’s reputation. Accordingly, the principal decides that he will be in charge of grading the final examination. Only then will their school’s reputation be safe. However, at Moritz’s house, his father exerts pressure on Moritz, making sure that he passes to the upper grade. After his parents find out that he has not been promoted, Moritz suffers a serious nervous breakdown. While the girls are talking on their way home, they discover that Martha was being abused by her father. They advise her to tell someone about it, but Martha strongly rejects it. She is concerned that she will be kicked out of the house like her friend, Ilse. Following that, Melchior and Wendla meet each other in the woods. They sit together beneath the oak tree and reminisce the moment when they had first met. When they meet for the second time, Wendla tells him about Martha suffering from domestic violence. She then tells him that she has never undergone punishment before, and confesses that she is curious. Act two begins after a 15-minute intermission. During the period the play was made, Christianity prevailed in Germany. Hence, the first scene begins with a sermon in a church about children betraying their parents. As the sermon is spoken, in the hayloft, Melchior and Wendla break their vows of chastity in the grip of impulsive feelings, something that their parents could hardly imagine. Since Wendla is overwhelmed and lost in all that has happened, she is unaware of what would result from this action. Moritz stands alone in the river, feeling that no one understands him. Then his outcast friend Ilse comes across and reminds him of pleasant childhood memories, playing with Wendla and Melchior. Moritz is out of his mind, so he refuses to spend time with her or walk her home. She reproves him for avoiding her and leaves. Moritz regrets not staying with her, and trapped in depression and insecurity, seeks for an exit by committing suicide. At Moritz’s funeral, Melchior grieves over the loss of his friend and charges the adults who betrayed Moritz by putting too much pressure on him. Meanwhile, Melchior ’s school friends Hanschen and Ernst roll in the grass in a vineyard. Hanschen says that there are three ways a man can go: beaten by the status quo, like Moritz; pioneer like Melchior; or just wait for an opportunity and go with the situation like himself. Ernst feels strong connections with Hanschen and the two establish deep relationships with each other. Melchior writes a letter to Wendla, expecting to go back with her to their paradise. At the same time, Wendla sees a doctor since she has morning sickness and body aches. The doctor recognizes she is pregnant and reveals this fact to her mother. Wendla is shocked and she blames her mother for not telling her anything. She passes her mother Melchior’s letter, and his parents argue what to do about him. His mother believes it is too cruel to send him to a reformatory. However, she connives as his father shows her the letter that he wrote to Wendla. At a reformatory, the other boys pick on Melchior. They steal a letter from Wendla and disclose to him that she is pregnant. In the meantime, Wendla is taken to a secret abortion doctor by her mother with no idea what is happening. Melchior breaks out of the reformatory and writes to Ilse to communicate with the other girls. He waits for Wendla in the graveyard at midnight, not knowing what has happened to her. Wendla unfortunately dies during her surgery. At the cemetery, Melchior finds Wendla’s name. He is frustrated with grief and wants to let everything go. The ghost of Moritz and Wendla make an appearance to comfort him. They support him forward into the world with all the unfortunate memories that have happened to him and his friends. Melchior promises to never forget them. Ilse stands alone, looking back on the past and the events that have happened. Then, she is joined by the rest of the performers as they all look forward to the wonder of a purple summer. The meaning of the title Spring Awakening stands for the awakening of sexual instincts. Though most of the physically intimate moments involve no real touching, this musical deals with the pervasive frankness and mainly relies on emotions and feelings. However, a difference does exist from the conventional love story such as Romeo and Juliet, as the story implies rather realistic tragedies that occasionally decorate the headlines of rigid societal news. It was impressive to see the absurdities and contradictions of German society at that moment from the perspective of adolescents. In particular, the main characters- who were devout Christians- approach concepts that were against the Christian doctrine without hesitation which was constantly surprising. Additionally, parts of the play presented the dangers of being curious but ignorant, leading to the belief that it is important for children going through puberty to be more aware of aforementioned matters. A pop-rock score was not only enough to reveal their confusion and rebellion, but also showed the actors’ talented vocals and strong acting abilities. Addictive rock music and outstanding performances were enough to captivate the audience. The m u s i c a l a l l o w s t h e a u d i e n c e t o contemplate the appropriate direction that the Korean society should go concerning youth issues, for a coercive atmosphere causes a reactive effect as seen in the musical.