sorry to let him go. Won Are you going to participate next season? Kim I’ve received an offer. I was with the show from the beginning, and the process of discovering new talent was rewarding, so yes, I’ll probably join the next season.
Envisioning a Bright Future for Korean Musicals Won What are you working on now? Kim I get a lot of offers, but I’m more interested in doing original Korean musicals than foreign works. I’m working on new musical versions of “Sandglass,” a beloved television drama from the ‘90s, and “Gwanghwamun Love Song,” which features songs by the late composer Lee Yeong-hoon. Popular musicals such as “Sopyonje,” “Rebecca,” “Rudolf,” and “Mata Hari” are also scheduled for encore performances. Won You have an aspiration to work as music director of performances overseas, don’t you? Kim I have a strong desire to mount original Korean musicals on international stages. Anyone in the Korean musical industry would probably feel the same way. I want to show the global audience how much Korean musicals have grown and how much they are loved. Of course, there are many foreign musical fans in Korea and some visit Korea expressly to see musicals, but I want more people to appreciate our original musicals. I even dream of musicals sparking a new hallyu [Korean Wave]. I think we can make it happen, if we keep working hard at it.” While musicals in the West were influenced by popular theater around 1900 — for example, vaudeville, minstrel shows, and burlesque — and established as a genre of family entertainment, the Korean musical is rooted in the styles of traditional performing arts, such as folk songs, mask dances (talchum ), shamanic rites (gut ), pansori narrative songs, and akgeuk , the Korean musical theater comparable to Western operettas. This background distinguishes Korean musicals from their Western counterparts on Broadway and the West End, and it is their uniqueness that attracts overseas audiences. Kim Moon-jung has greatly contributed to upgrading the performance of many licensed musicals from other countries, and perhaps it’s natural that she has such a strong love for original Korean productions. The future of Korean musicals, as Kim dreams of it, is very bright indeed. That’s what makes us cheer on her aspirations and work as an artist, and eagerly await her next production.
KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 45