[On Stage] "A Work That Made Us Feel the Value of Family and the Happiness of Everyday Life"

Hyojung and Jinho Share the Healing Power of Family
in the Musical "Cheon Gaeui Parang"
"Through Yeonjae, I Came to Understand My Mother and Sister More Deeply"
Jinho: "Collie Teaches Us That Happiness Is Close By"

“In the musical Cheon Gaeui Parang (A Thousand Blues), the mother ‘Bokyung’ never shows a weak side in front of her two daughters. I also thought my own mother was as strong as steel like Bokyung, but one day I heard that she cried loudly on a bus. She said it was because raising two daughters was so difficult.”

Hyojung (Oh My Girl) said that her understanding of family deepened while performing in Seoul Arts Troupe’s original musical Cheon Gaeui Parang. Recently, we met the two lead actors of Cheon Gaeui Parang at the National Theater: Hyojung and Jinho (PENTAGON).

In Cheon Gaeui Parang, Hyojung plays the role of 17-year-old high school student ‘Yeonjae’. She lost her father early and lives with her mother Bokyung and older sister ‘Eunhye’.

“Coincidentally, I also lost my father when I was in fifth grade and live with my mother and older sister. Like Yeonjae in the play, there is loneliness and frustration within the family that cannot be expressed in words. So the emotions Yeonjae feels were not unfamiliar to me. Through Cheon Gaeui Parang, I was able to understand my mother and sister better and empathize with them more deeply.”

Hyojeong, currently appearing as Yeonjae in Seoul Arts Troupe's "A Thousand Blues."
[Photo provided by Seoul Arts Troupe]

Cheon Gaeui Parang is based on the novel of the same name by author Cheon Seonran. The novel won the 2019 Korea Science Fiction Literature Award for Best Novel and was published the following year. It received public acclaim, and last year both the National Theater Company and Seoul Arts Troupe staged performances, drawing attention. The National Theater Company presented it as a play in April, and Seoul Arts Troupe as an original musical in May. Although it is an SF novel that won a science fiction literature award, it deals with the familiar story of family, gaining empathy from the public.

In the play, Yeonjae is interested in robots, and Eunhye is interested in animals. Older sister Eunhye uses a wheelchair due to a leg disability. She feels heartbroken when ‘Today,’ a horse at a nearby racetrack, faces euthanasia because its cartilage was damaged from overwork. Cheon Gaeui Parang is set in 2035, where humanoids are part of everyday life. Today’s jockey is not a human but a humanoid named C-27. C-27 sacrifices itself by deliberately falling off to protect Today, who has difficulty running. Yeonjae takes C-27, who is about to be discarded, home, names it ‘Collie,’ and decides to repair it herself. Then Eunhye, Yeonjae, and Collie devise a plan to save Today from euthanasia. Collie, who becomes part of Yeonjae’s family, listens to the loneliness and frustration that the three women could not easily share and helps resolve conflicts within the family.

Jinho, who plays Collie, explained that Cheon Gaeui Parang is a work that reminds us of the preciousness of everyday life. “Collie often unintentionally resolves the characters’ difficulties through innocent questions. While playing him, I realized how much power a warm word in daily life can have.”

Jinho, who is usually not one to say unnecessary things, said he greatly felt the happiness that a few silly jokes can bring through Cheon Gaeui Parang. “I think the message the author wants to convey is that ‘happiness is close by.’ I hope the audience, after watching this work, will reflect on the small happiness around them. Although it is a story about the future, it is a very analog and emotional work with many charming aspects.”

Jinho, who appears as Koli in Seoul Arts Troupe's "A Thousand Blues."
[Photo by Seoul Arts Troupe]

Hyojung made her musical debut last year with the premiere of Cheon Gaeui Parang. Jinho debuted in musicals in 2017 with All Shook Up, but he had few opportunities to appear in musicals because he focused on his singing career. Both said they feel more freedom on the musical stage and want to continue challenging themselves.

Hyojung said, “Fans of idol stages are interested not only in the stage itself but also in outward aspects like fashion, makeup, and choreography, so it’s impossible not to pay attention to those parts. On the musical stage, the audience focuses on the stage itself, and I feel great freedom showing a very ordinary side of myself (compared to the glamorous image when I was in a girl group). Whatever expression I use in the musical performance, I think it’s just Yeonjae’s character, so I feel a lot of freedom that I didn’t experience while doing girl group activities.”

Jinho also said that the freedom Hyojung feels is the charm of musicals. “When I’m active as a singer, I have to follow fixed choreography, fixed songs, and fixed parts, but on the musical stage, I can pour out 100% of my emotions and completely let go. After acting as I think, I often feel tremendous catharsis.”

Cheon Gaeui Parang opened on the 22nd at the National Theater’s Haeoreum Theater. It is scheduled to run until March 7.

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