Audience Becomes Market Customers... Doosan Art Center's Original Musical "Gwangjang Market"

Doosan Art Center's First Original Musical Production
A Migrant Woman Delivering Meals at Gwangjang Market Takes Center Stage
Stage and Audience Boundaries Dissolved at Space111... Runs Through July 5

Doosan Art Center will present its first-ever independently planned and produced original musical, "Gwangjang Market," at Doosan Art Center Space111 through July 5, 2025, since its opening in 2007.

The original musical "Gwangjang Market" is set against the backdrop of Gwangjang Market, a traditional market located in Jongno 5-ga, Seoul. Doosan Art Center explained that Gwangjang Market is a place where people of various generations and nationalities come and go today, making it an ideal location to embody this year's Doosan Humanities Theater theme, "Local." The center added that this performance will mark the finale of "Doosan Humanities Theater 2025: Local."

The original musical "Gwangjang Market" explores contemporary themes such as migration, labor, and community. The story follows "Aung," a migrant woman who came from Myanmar to study, as she begins delivering meals to make a living, gradually forming relationships with the market vendors and ultimately becoming a member of the community. The warmth of everyday life and human relationships, fostered through the sharing of "rice," is warmly depicted within the space of the market, highlighting hospitality and solidarity.

For this production, the boundaries between the stage and the audience are eliminated, transforming the entire Space111 into a market-like setting. Actors move freely among the audience, allowing spectators to naturally become both customers and neighbors within the market. By bringing the audience and actors into close proximity, the production aims to vividly convey the vibrancy and energy of Gwangjang Market.

Writer Yoon Mihyun, composer and music director Na Silin, and director Lee Soyoung participated as the creative team behind "Gwangjang Market." Yoon Mihyun, who won the 2019 Doosan Yonkang Arts Award in the performing arts category, previously presented the musical "Babari Man - Kill Like I Do" at Doosan Art Center in 2021 with composer Na Silin. Director Lee Soyoung also participated as co-director in the musical "Moby Dick," which was co-produced by Doosan Art Center in 2012.

Director Lee Soyoung stated, "I hope that peace, which makes everyday life possible; hospitality, which offers that peace to others; and the spaces that provide such hospitality, are discovered through the connections that fill the hunger of life." The cast includes Kang Jeongim, Park Hyuncheol, Song Seokgeun, Yoon Hyungil, Lee Jihyun, and Jeong Daejin.

This production implements various accessibility measures to improve audience access. Korean subtitles will be provided during the performance to convey dialogue and sound information, and an audio introduction featuring a summary of the work and its visual elements will be available in advance for audience members to review before attending.

Tickets can be reserved through the Doosan Art Center website and NOL Ticket (Interpark). Audience members with disabilities or those who have difficulty using digital devices may reserve tickets via voice call or text message through an accessibility manager.