Over 10,000 Visitors in 20 Days... Successful Closing of the Korea Theater Festival Kicked Off in Andong and Yecheon

Grand Prize Winner 'Cheonmin, Gupda' Receives Presidential Award at the 39th Korea Theater Festival

The 39th Korea Theater Festival Closing Ceremony.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The 39th Korea Theater Festival, held over 20 days in Andong and Yecheon amid COVID-19 and the heatwave, closed its curtains capturing the attention of 10,000 spectators. It is regarded as a successful conclusion despite the crisis.

At the closing ceremony held from 2 p.m. on the 8th at Yecheon County Cultural Center, hosted by Ko In-beom and Gil Hae-yeon, the Ulsan city representative group ‘Performance Production Madang’ won the grand prize, the President’s Award, with their play ‘Cheonmin, Gubda,’ receiving a prize of 30 million KRW.

‘Huseol’ by the Chungbuk representative troupe ‘Neulpum’ and ‘Talnallahaouse’ by Daegu city representative troupe ‘Cheoyong’ won the Gold Prize, which includes the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award and the Gyeongbuk Governor’s Award. Each Gold Prize was awarded 20 million KRW.

The Silver Prize, with 10 million KRW awarded to each of the four teams, went to ‘What Does the Bird That Broke Out of the Egg Fly With?’ by Daejeon representative troupe ‘Bindeul,’ ‘Unsu Daetong’ by Gyeongnam representative troupe ‘Jangjabeondeok,’ ‘When the Peach Blossoms Fall, the Songha Flies’ by Seoul representative troupe ‘Samgaksan,’ and ‘Traveling Troupe’ by Gyeongbuk representative troupe ‘Dungji.’

Following the group awards, in the individual awards, director Ko Seon-myeong, who directed ‘Cheonmin Gubda,’ won the Best Director Award, and actor Park Mu-young, who gave a passionate performance in ‘When the Peach Blossoms Fall, the Songha Flies,’ received the Best Acting Award.

The Male Rookie Acting Awards were given to Kim Young-chun of ‘Cheonmin Gubda’ and Kim Sung-won of ‘Talnallahaouse,’ while the Female Rookie Acting Awards went to Jung Ah-reum of ‘Huseol’ and Jung Eu-tteum of ‘Unsu Daetong.’

Artistic Director Noh Ha-ryong said, “The unprecedented pandemic situation of COVID-19 deepened the actors’ passion for art, and overall, I felt that the quality of the works has greatly improved.”

At the Networking Festival, which judged works by directors under 40, the grand prize went to ‘To Hyeyoung’ by the troupe ‘Heotjit.’ The Best Director Awards were given to Kim Hyun-gyu, who directed ‘To Hyeyoung,’ and Song Cheon-young, who directed ‘Inside.’

The Best Acting Awards were awarded to Choi Yoon-jung and Park Ji-hoon for their outstanding performances in ‘Helmer’ and ‘To Hyeyoung.’ The Stage Art Award went to stage director Park Min-su of ‘Inside.’

At the Oh My God Fringe Festival, the grand prize was awarded to the troupe Gicha’s ‘Hemlit.’ The Gold Prizes went to troupe Piltong’s ‘Water Fight part1 Too Long a War’ and Fos Dance Company’s ‘Fantastic Alice,’ while the Silver Prizes were awarded to ‘Eoyeoye Sugungaja,’ ‘Sun, Moon, and Tiger,’ and ‘Kroki Brothers.’

Oh Tae-geun, director of the Theater Association, said, “It is miraculous that the Korea Theater Festival, held amid the pandemic, concluded successfully with over 10,000 attendees,” and expressed gratitude to Andong City and Yecheon County for their active support.

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