[Stage Voices]K-Culture Must Seize the Moment While the Tide Is High...

Ticket Price Gap Stems from Venue Shortage
Calls Grow to Expand Infrastructure and Raise Cultural Budget Ratio

On September 2, the "Musical Forum 2025," hosted by the Korea Musical Association, was held at the Hongik University Daehangno Art Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Inhye Jung, Head of the Performance Distribution Team at the Arts Management Support Center, delivered the first presentation, using statistics from the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS) operated by the center to examine the current state of the Korean musical market. Particularly notable were the statistics on ticket sales per audience member: on Broadway in the United States, the figure is about 140,000 won, and in London’s West End, it is about 110,000 won, but in Korea, it is only around 59,000 won. This stands in contrast to the frequent domestic media reports claiming that "musical ticket prices are expensive."

Chunhyu Park, writer of "Maybe Happy Ending" and an attendee at the forum, remarked, "Broadway operates strictly on capitalist principles, so there is no upper limit on ticket prices," and noted that tickets for a recent play starring George Clooney exceeded 1 million won.

Seonghoon Lee, CEO of the performance planning company Shonote (second from right), is speaking at the "2025 Musical Forum" held on the 2nd at the Hongik University Daehangno Art Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. From left: Inhye Jung, Head of Performance Distribution Team at the Arts Management Support Center; Seungyeon Choi, musical critic; Chunhyu Park, writer; Heekyung Ko, Dean of Graduate School of Performing Arts at Hongik University; Euntae Park, musical actor; Seonghoon Lee, CEO; Yucheol Kim, Head of Library Company Headquarters.

On September 4, Choi Hwiyoung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, held his first press briefing at the Modu Arts Theater in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, since taking office. At the event, Minister Choi pointed out the shortage of large-scale performance venues in Korea. He stated, "Japan has 34 indoor performance venues with more than 10,000 seats, while Korea has only eight," and added, "Japan already has five domed stadiums with more than 40,000 seats and is building more, but Korea does not have a single one."

Listening to these remarks, it occurred to me that the shortage of large venues might be a cause of the ticket price gap. Although Minister Choi cited the example of K-pop concerts, the situation is no different in the theater and musical market. Because there are so few large venues, production companies struggle to benefit from economies of scale. As a result, even though the average ticket price for Korean musicals is only about half that of the United States or the United Kingdom, there are repeated criticisms that tickets for a handful of large theater productions are expensive. This issue is also connected to the star system. Since the number of large theaters where star actors can perform is limited, the appearance fees for some actors increase, which then leads to higher ticket prices.

Although "Maybe Happy Ending" by Chunhyu Park won six Tony Awards and brought attention to Korean musicals, the poor infrastructure remains a major obstacle to market growth. At the musical forum, Seonghoon Lee, CEO of Shonote, emphasized, "You must row while the tide is in your favor," stressing that now is the time to lay the groundwork for the growth of the musical market. Minister Choi's disappointment with the budget proposal can be interpreted in the same context.

Choi Hwiyoung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is speaking at a press conference marking one month since his inauguration, held at Modu Arts Theater in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul on the 4th.
[Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]

According to next year’s government budget proposal, which passed the Cabinet meeting last week, the cultural budget will increase by 9.2% from 8.8 trillion won this year to 9.6 trillion won next year. However, the proportion of the cultural budget compared to the total budget will rise by only 0.01 percentage points, from 1.31% to 1.32%. Minister Choi expressed disappointment, pointing out that Korea’s cultural budget ratio still ranks in the mid-to-lower range among OECD countries.

He emphasized, "With global interest in K-culture at an all-time high, now is a golden opportunity to grow our cultural industry," and stressed the need for active investment. It seems necessary for the regular session of the National Assembly to discuss increasing the proportion of the cultural budget.

Furthermore, beyond simply increasing the budget, only when specific policy measures such as expanding performance venue infrastructure and bridging regional cultural gaps are implemented will the Korean musical market be able to secure global competitiveness.