Only Large-Scale Musicals Benefited from the Surge in 'Retaliatory Viewing'... Polarization Deepens in the Performance Industry

First Half Performance Revenue Share: Musicals 78%
Plays 10%, Classical 9%... Others Minimal
Large Theater Revenue 18 Times Higher Than Small Theater
Small Venues and Festivals Nationwide Face Survival Crisis

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Last weekend at a large musical theater in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. With about 1,700 seats, it is the largest scale in the country. One hour before the performance started, hundreds of spectators surrounded the entrance area. Nearby photo zones and cafes were also crowded with people. The atmosphere was no different from before COVID-19.

The performance market is enjoying an unexpected boom thanks to the "revenge viewing" phenomenon, where suppressed demand due to COVID-19 is exploding. However, it has been revealed that polarization has deepened, with small-scale theaters and provincial areas facing worsening conditions.

Asia Economy analyzed the first half of this year’s data from the Korea Performing Arts Integrated System (KOPIS) and found that the sales scale of performances (including plays, musicals, classical music, opera, gugak, dance, etc.) reached 116.8 billion KRW. This is the first time in the past five years that first-half sales have exceeded 100 billion KRW. Sales in the first half of last year were 97.9 billion KRW, and from 2017 to 2019, they ranged between 30 billion and 40 billion KRW. The amendment to Article 4 of the Performance Act, which mandated the disclosure of performance statistics, was enacted on June 25, 2019. Prior statistics recorded sales only for incoming data. Even considering this, this year’s performance is exceptional.

Moreover, the first half of this year was a period when COVID-19 cases surged sharply. The average number of confirmed cases increased from about 14,000 per day in January to March to about 18,000 per day in April to June. As the recent spread of COVID-19 intensified, the government decided to postpone the implementation of the "new social distancing" by one week just eight hours before it was scheduled to start on the 30th of last month.

Despite these circumstances, people were able to visit theaters because there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 infection or transmission inside performance venues for over a year and a half since the pandemic began. Although there were infection cases among cast and staff before the musical "Dracula" opened in April, there were no infection cases among audience members who visited the theater.

The demand for "revenge viewing" began to explode from February, when the seating distancing rules inside theaters were relaxed. Previously, a so-called "pongdangpongdang" one-seat gap seating was enforced. Even when tickets were sold out, theaters could only fill up to 50% of the seats, resulting in a deficit structure. However, when the government adjusted the social distancing guidelines for theaters at level 2.5 to "two-seat gaps except for companions" or "one-seat gap seating," theaters were able to surpass the break-even point. Consequently, a series of large-scale musical and play performances opened.

A mature viewing culture that strictly follows quarantine rules has also been praised. A musical industry insider said, "We even increased staff to meticulously check quarantine measures and frequently communicate them to the audience," adding, "Most audience members wore masks and refrained from shouting."

Some voices have raised concerns that the recent boom is limited to specific genres and large theaters, and that polarization in the performance industry has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fact, musicals accounted for an overwhelming 78% of performance sales in the first half of this year, totaling 91.2 billion KRW. Except for plays (10%) and classical music (9%), sales in other genres were negligible. Additionally, there was a large sales gap among large theaters (over 1,000 seats), medium theaters (300?1,000 seats), and small theaters (under 300 seats). Sales for large theaters in the first half of this year reached 92.3 billion KRW, which is 18 times that of small theaters (5.2 billion KRW) and 4.8 times that of medium theaters (19.3 billion KRW).

Small-scale theaters in poor conditions are gradually closing. According to local government licensing data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, 23 theaters nationwide closed between January and May. Compared to 13 closures in 2019 and 21 in 2020, the number of closures has increased.

To make matters worse, small-scale performance festivals across the country are also facing existential threats due to government budget cuts. On the 20th of last month, 35 organizations nationwide, including the Korea Theater Association, launched the Emergency Meeting to Save Arts Creation Policies and began collective action. Excellent festivals such as the National Youth Theater Festival, ASSITEJ Children’s Theater Festival, and Young Theater Festival are at risk of collapse because they did not receive government funding due to budget cuts in the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service’s public contest project, the Korea Performing Arts Festival.

Kim Kwan, Secretary-General of the Korea Theater Association, criticized, "Even when the government sends COVID-19 support budgets to local governments, the first thing they cut is the culture and arts budget," adding, "The government evades responsibility by saying it is a local government authority, and local governments do not even disclose how much they have cut." He continued, "The majority of the 500,000 artists nationwide earn less than 10 million KRW annually and have to work two or three jobs," emphasizing, "The government must reestablish its policy direction for pure arts."

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