'Theater, Musical, Opera, and Film Festival... 25-Year-Old Jeongdong Theater Undergoes Major Transformation'

CEO Kim Hee-chul Emphasizes Reestablishing Jeongdong Theater Identity and Strengthening Public Theater Role
"Abolishing 20-Year-Old Traditional Regular Performances... Bringing Closer to Citizens with Diverse Content"
"Launching Affiliated Art Troupes... Planning Theater Reconstruction to Become a Complex Cultural Space"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Jeongdong Theater announced major changes to mark its 25th anniversary.

On the 16th, Kim Hee-cheol, CEO of Jeongdong Theater, emphasized at the 25th anniversary New Year press conference held at Jeongdong Theater, "We will communicate with more citizens through various contents such as plays, musicals, operas, and concerts."

Kim, who served as the head of the Performing Arts Division at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, was appointed as the director of Jeongdong Theater on August 20 last year. He said that he spent five months after his appointment deeply contemplating the identity of Jeongdong Theater. To reestablish the theater’s identity and expand its role as a public theater, he explained that the title of the head of the theater, used since its opening on June 17, 1995, was changed to CEO.

The biggest change Kim chose to reaffirm the theater’s identity was the abolition of the traditional regular performances that had continued for 20 years. Kim announced that the traditional regular performances would be discontinued after the closing of 'Gung: Jang Nok-su Jeon' on December 28 last year.

"The purpose of establishing Jeongdong Theater was twofold: the promotion and development of performing arts culture and the succession and development of traditional arts. Until now, it has been biased toward the succession and development of traditional arts. From now on, we will pay attention to the promotion and development of performing arts culture to balance both sides. Through this, we will ultimately redefine the functions and roles as a public theater and get closer to the people."

The traditional regular performances began in April 2000 and recorded a total of 8,825 performances with an accumulated audience of 2.09 million. In particular, following the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s venue specialization strategy in 2010, Jeongdong Theater played a major role as a 'traditional regular performance exclusive theater,' attracting foreign tourists who wanted to see traditional performances. However, Kim analyzed that this specialization in traditional performances caused the theater’s image to become fixed and distanced it from citizens.

Kim said, "As a public theater, we will fulfill our original role. Instead of being a theater targeting a specific genre or audience, we will build programs for more diverse audiences and transform into a theater that communicates with them."

An arts troupe under Jeongdong Theater will also be launched. It consists of 14 members, including 9 dancers, 4 pungmul performers, and 1 advisory member, mainly artists who have long been active in the traditional regular performances operated for 20 years. Including trainees and guest members, more than 20 people participate in actual performances.

Kim said, "Artists who have long been active in the traditional regular performances have been incorporated as regular employees since 2018. Since the traditional regular performances have ended, we plan to create a new system of regular and special performances as one arts troupe and also conduct domestic and international tours." He explained, "It is like creating a new national performing arts group."

The newly established arts troupe will present two regular performances titled 'Sinawi, Mong (夢)' and 'Sinaburo' in May and September this year, respectively. In December, a special performance called 'Bounce' is being prepared.

Kim emphasized openness and said he would actively promote collaboration and rental with external performing groups.

Accordingly, together with the production company Insight Entertainment, the musical 'Aranga,' which has proven both commercial success and artistic quality, will be performed at Jeongdong Theater from May 16 to July 26. 'Sagunjja - Season of Life,' featuring ballerina Kim Joo-won, will also be staged in October.

A new 'Famous Actor Series' will be introduced, spotlighting Korea’s representative actors in new plays. This project involves performing one new play annually with a famous actor. This year’s first lead is Song Seung-hwan, CEO of PMC Production, who will appear on Jeongdong Theater’s stage at the end of the year.

From April 9 to May 3, the spring concert 'Jeongdong Ballad,' featuring popular singers, will be held, and 'Yang Jun-mo’s Opera Date,' with musical actor Yang Jun-mo, will take place in February, June, October, and December. Kim also revealed plans to hold the 'Jeongdong Film Festival' on the outdoor stage of Jeongdong Theater in autumn in cooperation with nearby embassies.

Jeongdong Theater’s representative creative support program 'Changjaking' will be terminated. Instead, efforts will focus on further commercializing and staging performances developed through Changjaking. 'Jeokbyeok' and the musical 'Pan,' developed through Changjaking, will be performed this year. 'Jeokbyeok,' which fuses pansori and contemporary dance, has become a representative repertoire of Jeongdong Theater after being performed for three consecutive years until last year. It was selected as the opening work for this season and will be performed from March 14 to April 5. 'Pan' is a musical about the story of 'Jeongisu,' a professional narrator who read novels in the late Joseon period, scheduled to be performed from August 4 to September 13.

Kim said that since Jeongdong Theater’s facilities have aged over its 25 years since opening, reconstruction will also be pursued. He said, "We thought about reconstruction from the perspective of expanding our role as a public theater. Although there will be many difficulties such as securing the budget, we will actively push forward. Considering pilot operations after construction, it is expected to take more than three years to prepare for reopening." Kim emphasized that the goal is to transform into a new 'complex cultural space' with a 600-seat main theater, a 300-seat small theater, and auxiliary facilities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.