CEO Song Seunghwan: "Actors and Staff Are Family... We Will Overcome Difficulties Together"

8 Leading Korean Musical PDs Present Musical Gala 'Show Must Go On!' at Sejong Center
Performance Aims to Raise 500 Million KRW to Support Actors and Staff Affected by COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] "Actors and staff are like family to us. In this difficult situation caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we thought about ways to help them even a little, which led to organizing this performance."

The musical gala "The Show must go on!" created by eight of Korea's leading musical producers will be held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts Grand Theater on the 29th and 30th. This fundraising concert was prepared by prominent domestic musical producers including Song Seung-hwan, CEO of PMC Production; Park Myung-sung, CEO of Shinsee Company; Seol Do-kwon, CEO of Clip Service; Shin Chun-soo, CEO of Audi Company; Jang Woo-jae, CEO of Insight Entertainment; Eom Hong-hyun, CEO of EMK Musical Company; Ye Ju-yeol, Head of CJ ENM Performance Business Division; and Yoon Hong-sun, CEO of Acom, together with the Sejong Center, to support musical actors and staff struggling due to COVID-19.

At a press conference held on the 10th at the Sejong Center Chamber Hall, CEO Song Seung-hwan explained that musical PDs united because they could not ignore the difficulties of those like family. "The performing arts industry is much harder than expected. Our company performed Nanta for 20 years, but six months ago the theater closed, and we have not resumed performances yet. Two children's musicals were also canceled. There are productions like ours that cannot perform, and even if performances are held, it is difficult to make a profit. Ensemble actors and staff are in an even tougher situation. I am grateful to the fellow and junior PDs who prepared this performance in such difficult times."

From the left, Yoon Hong-seon, CEO of Acom; Eom Hong-hyun, CEO of EMK Musical Company; Shin Chun-soo, CEO of Odi Company; Song Seung-hwan, CEO of PMC Production; Kim Sung-kyu, President of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts; Park Myung-sung, CEO of Shinshi Company; Seol Do-kwon, CEO of Clip Service; Ye Ju-yeol, Head of CJ ENM Performance Business Division.
Photo by Sejong Center for the Performing Arts

Over the course of two days and three performances, about 30 of Korea's leading musical actors will appear. The donations and proceeds from this concert, where senior and junior musical artists join forces, will be used as a fund for musical professionals who will be responsible for the present and future of the Korean performing arts industry.

Kim Sung-gyu, President of the Sejong Center, stated, "The fundraising goal is 500 million won," and added, "We plan to provide 1 million won each to 500 people." Kim also said, "We will establish a fund management committee to decide the criteria and distribution methods, and the Sejong Center plans to donate about 90 million won. We are also collecting donations through Naver during the online broadcast and hope the performers will participate in the donations." Nam Kyung-joo, an actor who hosted the press conference, expressed his intention to donate on the spot and said he would also donate his performance fee if he participates in the show.

The artistic director of the performance is Park Myung-sung, CEO of Shinsee Company. Park explained that unlike traditional musical gala concerts, they plan to create a performance with a story that has a beginning, middle, and end. "Rather than a concert format where musical stars come out one by one to sing a song, we will create a completely different type of performance with a storyline. Since it is a story about future generations, we are preparing a narrative play format concert featuring boys and girls aspiring to be artists as narrators. It will be a fresh and touching show with an emotional story. The musical stars performing will sing songs that blend with the overall story of the performance, not just their favorite songs. We plan to create a fusion performance using various special effects that we could not use before due to stage setup and other constraints."

The PDs attending the press conference also stated that they intend to expand this gathering to serve as an opportunity for the development of the performing arts industry.

CEO Song Seung-hwan said, "The performing arts industry may remain very difficult even after COVID-19. Offline performances may be overshadowed by online content, so it is hard to guarantee that the situation will improve. However, performances cannot stop. Taking this opportunity, the eight PDs will continue to meet regularly to explore the future of the musical and performing arts industry."

Song added, "Although eight PDs have gathered for now, there is a production division in the Musical Association, and PDs belong to that division. There is also a Producers Association where theater and musical PDs work together. We will cooperate with such organizations to find ways for the performing arts industry to develop even after COVID-19. Starting with eight, we will also consider concerns with PDs from small production companies. We plan to discuss specific agendas from now on. There are parts where we need to request government support and parts where we need to change the system ourselves. We also need to consult with actors, staff, and theaters. We will solve these issues one by one," he added.

CEO Park Myung-sung also said, "It is the first time in 16 years since the founding of the Musical Association that major productions have gathered like this. This is not just a meeting for a charity concert but a time to reflect on how to develop the current performance market environment more constructively. We will consider whether there is a way to remove bubbles ourselves. I believe innovative changes in production methods are necessary in the COVID-19 era. We will think about how to change the production system to popularize and revitalize musicals more after COVID-19 and create a better production environment."

Tickets for this performance can be reserved from 2 p.m. on the 11th through the Sejong Center website and major ticketing platforms. Donations will continue until the concert ends on the 30th. The first of the three performances, scheduled for 3 p.m. on the 30th, will be broadcast online via Naver, allowing viewers to voluntarily participate in fundraising through online support.

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