Gokseong-gun Presents Train Travel Play Featuring Steam Locomotive Ride

Audience-Moving Performance by Train

From Creation to Performance of 'Simcheonggil Secret Recipe'

Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Lee Sang-cheol) will perform the creative play "Simcheong-gil Secret Recipe" by Theater Company Masil on the Seomjingang Steam Train at Gokseong-gun from October 7 to 9.

The train travel play "Simcheong-gil Secret Recipe," which achieved great success last May, is preparing to meet audiences again this October.

[Image provided by Gokseong-gun]

"Simcheong-gil Secret Recipe" is an audience participation performance that departs from Seomjingang Train Village on a steam locomotive and runs along the Seomjin River to the grandmother's house.

It is a stage created together by professional artists and grandmothers living in Gokseong, allowing audiences to feel the stories of the people of Gokseong, their handmade flavors, and the scenery of Gokseong as they are.

The play begins once you board the steam locomotive Simcheong-ho.

For about 25 minutes inside the train car, the story of Simcheong is told by train guides who are distant relatives of Simcheong, set against the backdrop of the Seomjin River visible through the running steam train’s window.

When the steam locomotive stops at Gajeong Station, an outdoor stage with a grandmother’s house concept awaits.

The second act of the performance is a dining play featuring the three unique life food stories of Gokseong grandmothers, set against the Seomjin River, and a lunchbox is provided.

"Simcheong-gil Secret Recipe" is a play that embodies the unique characteristics and culture of Gokseong.

Starting in 2018, it was completed after five years of collecting stories from Gokseong grandmothers, workshops, and small-scale performances.

The special aspect of this play is that the grandmothers of Gokseong take the lead as the main characters and guide the story.

Additionally, a resident theater team formed through the Gokseong-gun Future Education Foundation’s arts education program, the theater class, also participates.

The provided meal uses local specialties such as Baeksemi rice and black pork, with lunchboxes made directly by residents, allowing audiences to experience the local atmosphere.

A Gokseong-gun official said, “We plan to expand the play by linking it with youth learning theater so that the performance does not remain a one-time event but becomes a representative local content. We will continue to devote attention and effort so that arts education can develop into content.”

"Simcheong-gil Secret Recipe" is conducted with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Gokseong-gun as part of the 2023 Culture Day regional specialization program. Tickets are 25,000 KRW each, and Gokseong residents can watch for free.

Gokseong = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Cha Jong-seon hss79@asiae.co.kr