Student Blog: Experiencing the Musicals in Two Different Countries

Last few years, I had the experience of watching some musicals in Korea. While watching many musicals in Korea, I became curious about the musicals in other cultures. So I started to find some musicals in other countries on the internet. And I found out that there was so many original version of musicals in the US. To experience the culture of the musical, I decided to go abroad to the other country. So I went to New York City last summer and this winter. As a huge fan of musicals, it was a great chance to find some differences between the two countries. Here are three comparisons of the culture around musicals.

1. Term: Open Run and Limited Run

Let's look at the definition of terms first. Open-run refers to a form of performance that is held indefinitely without a fixed period of time for the performance to end. Limited-run refers to a performance with a clearly defined period. on Broadway, most musicals are performed in an Open-run way. As you know, some popular musicals are played in an Open-run way and many tourists who visit New York usually watch one or more of them. It means that people can watch the musical anytime until the musical ends.

But in Korea, most musicals are played in Limited-run. In the case of musicals usually performed in Korea, it is common to run for three to six months. Mostly, the licensed version of the musicals is performed in Limited-run. That means once the musical ended, we might not know when that musical come again. Sometimes, people used to wait at least one year or more than 10 years to watch the license version again.

2. Theatre: Where are Most Theatres Located?

In New York City, we can see many theatres are gathered on Broadway. Most theatres are located within walking distance. So if you use the crosswalk, you can easily reach one theatre to another. For example, if you want to go to Al Hirschfeld Theatre from Majestic Theatre, you can just use the crosswalk and walk a little bit.

But in Korea, many theatres are located separately. Most theatres are located in Seoul, but they are not located within walking distance. So if you want to go to another theatre, it is better to use transportation such as buses and subways. This means that Korean musicals are characterized by works and theaters.

Broadway is symbolic because theaters are gathered. In addition, musical theaters and musical-related stores are gathered, which will be perfect for those who want to experience the musical-related culture.

3. How Do We Know the Cast Information?

When you go to the musical theatre on Broadway, you can always get the Playbill before the show begins. With Playbill, you can find out the cast on that day and get some information about the musical. Actually, one of the most important things about the Playbill is that we can know the cast on that day. But in Korea, you can not find similar kinds of magazines like Playbill. And you may wonder how we know the cast of the show on that day.

In Korea, you can find out the cast information the time when you book a ticket. For example, in Korea, it is common to have double or triple cast members in the same role. So, most musical companies give the information of cast members at least 2 weeks before. Actually, it could be the double-edged sword. Because some people book a ticket to watch the actor, but the actor might not come out. Most schedules are fixed, but sometimes they change a little bit. So it is hard to see the understudy member who acts the main role. Because it changes into another main casting member.

From this article, I organized the differences between the two countries. Even though there are some differences, I feel a similar way while watching the musicals in both countries. That is even if the language is different or the culture is different, the music and story last and are connected. So, if you have a chance to watch other countries of musicals, and find the common and differences between the two, you can see them from a different point of view.

Photo Credit: Eunsong Yang