[New York Diary] Korean Language Debuts on Broadway with the Musical K-pop

A New Chapter for K-pop on Broadway
From Trainee Days to Center Stage:
K-pop Artists Share Their Stories and Dreams

On the 19th (local time), audience members gave a standing ovation at the Broadway musical K-pop preview performance held at the Circle in the Square Theatre in New York, USA.

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] "You can do it. Nothing to be afraid of." The musical 'K-pop (KPOP)' has finally opened on Broadway, the heart of American performing arts, in New York. The first number that echoed through the Circle in the Square Theatre near Times Square on the night of Saturday the 19th (local time) was 'This Is My Korea,' with the Korean title 'Uri Iyagi' (Our Story).

Having already confirmed the local media enthusiasm at the press conference held in New York last March, the sight of local audiences filling the theater to watch a musical based on K-pop on this day was not very surprising. What was surprising, however, was that more songs and dialogues than expected were alternated between English and Korean. A separate page introducing the production team and cast in Korean was also prepared in the playbill.

Including Korean lyrics in a Broadway musical was a great challenge even for Helen Park, who earned the title of 'Broadway's first Asian female composer' through the musical K-pop. At a meeting held on the 17th at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, Helen Park said, "I gained courage through the movie 'Parasite'." She explained, "I gained the courage that when we express the most Korean things confidently beyond language barriers, people from other cultures will be able to understand us. So, the lyrics are half Korean and half English, and the dialogues also include Korean."

On the 17th (local time), attending the meeting with Korean media held at Lotte New York Palace Hotel were (from left in the photo) Bohyeong, Min, Kevin Woo, Luna, and composer Helen Park. Photo by [photographer's name]

The musical K-pop depicts the behind-the-scenes story of K-pop artists such as superstar Mui, newly debuted boy group F8, and girl group RTMIS preparing for a special one-night concert on Broadway, portraying their dreams, competition, and growth. It is currently in preview performances ahead of its official premiere on the 27th of this month.

This work was first introduced in 2017 in Off-Broadway small theaters and has already been validated by sweeping major awards. However, before its Broadway debut, considered the 'dream stage,' it underwent major changes, filling about half with new songs. Helen Park, responsible for music production, explained that during this process, "Rather than focusing on what American audiences would like, we intensely considered what best represents K-pop."

Familiar names appear among the cast of musical K-pop. Not only Luna, the main vocalist of girl group f(x), who announced her Broadway debut at the local press conference in March, but also artists who actually experienced the K-pop idol training system such as Bohyung (Kim Bohyung) from group Spica, Min (Lee Minyoung) from Miss A, and Kevin Woo, formerly of boy group U-KISS and who has released solo albums in the U.S., all gathered.

They unanimously said that the musical K-pop contains many experiences they went through from their trainee days to after debut.

Bohyung said, "I experienced many things. It reminds me of the old days," and seemed overwhelmed with emotion. Min also said, "I get choked up thinking about things I didn't know when I was young." He added, "I thought I wouldn't do a girl group again after Miss A, but here I am. Being on stage makes me happy every day," smiling brightly. Luna said, "Every idol must have experienced what is in this work," adding, "Through the character Mui, I overcame a lot of past trauma. I receive comfort every day. It's our story."

What message did they want to convey on Broadway? Helen Park said, "When you see K-pop idols from afar, you think of perfect skills, looks, and glamour, but they are also a community and people no different from me. I wanted to show their inner selves," adding, "Everyone has the same worries, the same weaknesses, and experiences joy and hardship." Kevin Woo emphasized, "As a Korean American born and raised in the U.S., the Broadway stage holds great meaning for me," and said, "Rather than saying 'This is K-pop,' I want to show a story everyone can relate to, the power of music beyond language barriers, and passion."

Although still in the preview period, local audience responses are gradually being confirmed. At the performance on the 19th, not only global K-pop fans who enjoy K-pop were present, but also many older local people who are not familiar with K-pop culture but love Broadway. Since musical K-pop is the only completely new original musical without a pre-existing work among the lineups coming to Broadway at the end of this year, it has attracted the attention of long-time musical fans.

A middle-aged man who seemed unfamiliar with K-pop looked around whenever the Korean dialogues got long, but when Luna, playing the role of Mui, passionately sang 'Superstar' at the end of Act 1, he expressed admiration, saying, "She’s really good." This man gave the loudest standing ovation and cheers at the last song of Act 2. The "power and passion of music beyond language barriers (Kevin Woo)" that the cast wanted to convey through musical K-pop evidently resonated.

However, some Korean-born audience members met on site showed cautious attitudes as much as they hoped for the success of musical K-pop. They cautiously said, "The overall styling seems more like American pop’s view of K-pop rather than genuine original K-pop," and "I worry that overseas audiences might judge K-pop solely based on this performance," but raised their voices saying, "I hope the musical K-pop, based on K-pop, will be loved on Broadway for a long time."

Local media are also closely watching K-pop’s conquest of Broadway. The New York Times (NYT) reported, "In 2017 (when musical K-pop was performed Off-Broadway), many Americans probably only thought of Psy’s Gangnam Style when they heard K-pop," adding, "But now, K-pop idols including Stray Kids regularly top American music charts, and at NBC’s American Song Contest, K-pop artist Alexa represented Oklahoma and won." The New York Theater Guide also mentioned BTS and Blackpink, reporting, "In recent years, Korean pop stars have become as recognizable as Hollywood stars. K-pop appearing on Broadway in New York is perhaps not so surprising."