Though inspired by the well-known “Mary Poppins” series, local original musical “Black Mary Poppins” tells a different story of the famous nanny with a magical, black umbrella. The story is loosely based on Australian novelist P. L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins” series, which has been made into numerous films. However, different from other films or drama adaptations, the musical is set in 1926 German...

Local performing arts scene continues run under strict social distancing rules inflicted by the Korean government

A new high-tech musical is to promote “peace travel” in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. “Wonder Ticket,” organized by the KTO, will stream online from Nov. 28 to Dec. 31, promoting the travel industry in the DMZ. The story of the musical takes off at an abandoned steam locomotive -- which currently sits at Jangdan Station in Imjingak, ...

French original musical kicks off Seoul run after staff recover from COVID-19

The number of moviegoers in South Korea jumped 55 percent in October from a month earlier thanks to sleeper hits and eased virus fears, a report showed Friday. A total of 4.63 million went to theaters last month, up 1.64 million, or 55 percent, from 2.99 million tallied in September, according to the monthly report by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The on-month gain was led by the releases of...

A new original musical created to be presented online rather than put on stage is set for release later this month. While it has become the norm for performing arts production companies to stream their shows online during the pandemic, musicals created for the screen remain a novel idea. Produced by EMK Entertainment, affiliated with major musical production company EMK Musical Company, the mus...

South Korean movie theaters are rolling up their sleeves to receive more film buffs as the 2-meter distancing rule in theaters is set to be lifted under the new five-tier scheme next week. Last week, the South Korean government announced a detailed set of social distancing and stay-in-place mandates to improve antivirus measures and clarify business restrictions in a tailored fashion. It came a...

The performing art scene and the movie industry, which have been hit hard by the audience distancing measures, are expected to make some recovery under the new scheme. The new social distancing system mandates five stages of social distancing and classifies performing art theaters and cinemas into “regular” sites. The new system goes into effect Saturday. At Level 1, the lowest level of the fiv...

Though 2020 has brought unprecedented changes to the performing arts scene, including the world of ballet, “The Nutcracker” will wrap up the year as it does every year. The holiday tradition of enjoying Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece “The Nutcracker” in the Christmas season will continue despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Universal Ballet will go onstage with “The Nutcracker” Dec. 18-30 at t...

The annual dance festival’s only in-person event brings together ritual dance, ballet and contemporary dance all on one stage

Adjusting to the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul will stream short-form plays under the Play Clips project. The Seoul Arts Center is to launch Play Clips as a part of its Sac on Screen project which brings performing arts to the virtual stage through online screening. Play Clips will introduce plays, divided into five- to six-minute-long videos. The art c...

Multiplex cinema chain CGV announced Thursday that it would close seven of its branches, including the Daehangno location in Seoul, due to the financial burden of COVID-19. The announcement came just three days after CGV decided to reduce the number of branches by 30 percent due to COVID-19 losses on Monday. The company announced that 35-40 branches of the current 119 branches will close within ...

Actors rise to the challenge of performing onstage during pandemic

Original musical by Koh Sun-woong pays tribute to Gwangju Democratic Uprising

The international tour production of “Cats” will extend its Seoul run for a month. The West End musical opened Sept. 9 at the Charlotte Theater in eastern Seoul. Though initially slated to run until Nov. 8, the show will now close on Dec. 6. After the Seoul run, the musical will tour Korea, though details of that have yet to be finalized. Adjusting to the time of the novel coronavirus, the mus...