Yongin City Launches 3rd Korea University Theater Festival... 14 Finalist Teams Confirmed

Applications from 49 University Teams Nationwide... 3.5-to-1 Competition Rate
14 Finalist Teams Confirmed, Including Dankook University and Kyonggi University
Pre-Showcase in June to Engage with Audiences
Opening Ceremony on July 11 at the Forest Education Center

The 3rd Korea University Theater Festival, the only residential university theater festival in Korea, held in Yongin Special City, Gyeonggi Province, is gearing up in earnest ahead of its opening on July 11.

Poster for the 3rd Korea University Theater Festival. Provided by Yongin City

On May 19, the city announced that after reviewing applications from 49 university teams nationwide for the 3rd Korea University Theater Festival last month, it has finalized 14 teams to advance to the main stage.

The city selected the finalists based on a comprehensive evaluation of the completeness of each production, harmony among team members, novelty of expression, understanding of the festival’s purpose, and the growth potential of both the team and their work, with the teams scoring highest moving on to the finals.

The teams and productions that advanced to the finals, overcoming a competition rate of 3.5 to 1, include: Kyonggi University’s "Marat/Sade," Kyungsung University’s "Ikaino Bike," Kyung Hee University, Dankook University’s "The Secret Garden," Daejin University’s "Amesha," Dongyang University, Dong-Ah Institute of Media and Arts’ "Green Place 2.0," and others.

Also included are: Seokyeong University’s "Barbie," Seoul Institute of the Arts’ "Zero Point," Sungkyul University’s "The Seven Keys of Bold Fate," Incheon National University’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," Chung-Ang University’s "Unification of the Two Koreas," Chungwoon University’s "Pygmalions," and Howon University’s "On a Blue Day."

Since 2024, the city has hosted the Korea University Theater Festival to provide a stage in Yongin for university theater students nationwide to showcase their passion for the performing arts and creative ingenuity, while enabling citizens to enjoy diverse cultural experiences by watching plays shaped by young perspectives.

The city provides major local venues such as Yongin Poeun Art Hall and Yongin Cultural Arts Center free of charge to participating teams. During the festival, participants stay together, fostering artistic camaraderie and engaging in collaborative creation at a theater camp set up in the Yongin Natural Recreation Forest, with support for community activities and accommodations.

This year, the number of finalist teams was increased by two from last year, selecting 14 teams instead of 12. The city will provide each team with a grant of 4 million won to support their performances, and the five teams that receive the best reviews after their shows will each receive an additional 10 million won. The total prize amount is 116 million won, up 24.4 million won from last year.

In addition, a total project budget of 250 million won will be allocated to various festival operations, including participant accommodations, creative workshops, artist talks, community support, on-site operations, and ticket promotions.

The festival has quickly become a new cultural content platform, drawing national attention from the university community and attracting participants from across the country to Yongin Special City. The city plans to further expand and enrich the event as it continues to gain prominence.

The most notable feature of this year's festival is the pre-showcase event.

The city organized the pre-showcase to raise awareness of the university theater festival and to help citizens enjoy theater in a fun and accessible way.

Finalist teams will present performances and production highlights at "Seasonal Arts Plaza June: Theater Playground," held on June 27 at the outdoor plaza of Yongin Poeun Art Hall, ahead of the main festival opening. There will also be an interactive theater playground for audiences to engage and communicate with the performers.

The festival will kick off with preliminary programs from May 31 to June 1. In June, technical workshops and staff meetings will take place, followed by the residential program, "Stay&Play," for participants from July 10 to 15. The opening ceremony will be held on July 11 at the Yongin Forest Education Center.

From July 16 to 29, the 14 finalist teams will stage their main performances, "Stage On," at four local venues. To make theater more accessible to citizens, the city has doubled the number of weekend performances from four last year to eight this year.

The closing program, "It’s a Shame to Go Home Just Because the Curtain Fell," will be performed from July 31 to August 1, and the 3rd Korea University Theater Festival will conclude with the closing ceremony on August 1.

A Yongin City official stated, "We are grateful to all the teams that applied to participate in the 3rd Korea University Theater Festival, a residential festival where university theater students from across the country exchange and grow on the Yongin stage. Through this festival model that combines performance, education, and exchange, we aim to broaden the creative foundation for young artists and continually expand the points of contact between citizens and theater, striving to further strengthen the Korea University Theater Festival."

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