Minister Choi Hwee Young Visits Daehangno, Listens to On-Site Feedback from Musical Creators and Production Team

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) announced on August 9 that Minister Hwee Young Choi visited the Hongik University Art Center Grand Theater in Daehakro on the afternoon of August 9 to watch the musical Swag Age, Shout Joseon! and encouraged the cast and production team.

Following his visit to the theater scene last weekend, Minister Choi visited a musical performance site to assess the working conditions of artists, listen to voices from the field, and pledged to expand support for the promotion of K-musicals.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwi-Young Choi visited the Hongik University Art Center Grand Theater in Daehakro, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 8th to watch the musical Swag Age, Shout Joseon! After the performance, he met with the cast and staff to discuss ideas for promoting K-musicals.
Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The original musical Swag Age, Shout Joseon! has been loved consistently since its premiere in 2019 and is now in its fourth season this year. In particular, it is attracting attention as a successful case of a Korean original musical making inroads overseas, as it is scheduled to be staged at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London’s West End on September 8.

This production was selected for the "K-Musical English-Speaking Market Mid-Term Development Support Project," organized by the Arts Management Support Center with funding from the MCST, and is receiving production support for localization over two years, 2025 and 2026. The K-Musical English-Speaking Market Mid-Term Development Support Project is one of the initiatives under the "Establishing a Foundation for the Revitalization of Performing Arts." In addition to mid-term development support for English-speaking markets, the project includes the K-Musical International Market, capacity building for prospective and professional musical producers, and the K-Musical Roadshow, all aimed at expanding the overseas presence of K-musicals and strengthening the industry ecosystem.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwee Young Choi (second from left) visited the Hongik University Art Center Grand Theater in Daehangno, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 8th to watch the musical Swag Age, Shout Joseon! and met with the cast and staff to share opinions on promoting K-musicals.

After the performance, Minister Choi met with the musical’s cast and production team to hear their candid feedback. Kim Sooha, who plays the lead role of Jin in Swag Age, Shout Joseon!, stated, "A stable environment that allows original musicals to be staged consistently is essential for creating success stories like a second Tony Award win," and shared her thoughts on advancing musicals overseas. In response, Minister Choi said, "We will actively support the building of an ecosystem that connects every stage from creation to overseas expansion, so that K-musicals can be competitive on the global stage."

Starting next year, the MCST and the Arts Management Support Center plan to launch new initiatives, including support for leasing complex spaces for K-musical creation and production, support for pilot performances, support for overseas tryout performances, and capacity-building programs for overseas experience of creative and production teams.