2023 May 12 Ticket

Shim Chung | Beautiful Mint Life | Beethoven's Secret | Hero | Seoul Jazz Festival 2023 | King Lear | Death Note | SIX the Musical | Mamma Mia! |

SHIM CHUNGSeoul Arts Center, Opera Theater

Universal Ballet Company’s (UBC) “Shim Chung,” will begin its three-day run at the Seoul Arts Center, southern Seoul, from Friday. [UBC]

May 12 – 14:The Universal Ballet Company’s (UBC) “Shim Chung,” which was created specifically for global stages in 1986, will amaze ballet fans as well those who love traditional Korean dance performances. The work has been a pillar of the company’s repertoire for more than 20 years. It tells the story of Korea’s beloved folktale of Shim Chung, a girl who sacrifices herself to allow her blind father to regain his eyesight.

For the upcoming performance, UBC dancers Kang Mi-sun, Hong Hyang-gee, Han Sangyi and guest dancer Park Sang-won will alternate the role of Shim Chung.

Tickets range from 20,000 won ($15) to 100,000 won.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5

BEAUTIFUL MINT LIFEOlympic ParkMay 13 and 14:Spring is here and so is music festival “Beautiful Mint Life.”

This year’s lineup of artists includes 10cm, Jukjae, Soran, Sunwoojunga, Jung Joon-il, Peppertones, Lacuna, Roy Kim, Low Hanging Fruits, H1-KEY among others. The gate for the festival opens at noon.

A day ticket costs 110,000 won.

Olympic Park Station, line No. 5, exit 3

BEETHOVEN’S SECRETSejong Centers for the Performing Arts, Grand TheaterThrough May 15: The musical is about an “immortal romance,” as the show calls it, between Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) and his secret lover Antonie Brentano (1780-1869). Brentano is widely speculated by scholars to be the “eternally beloved” referenced in Beethoven’s letters that were found in his room after he died.

The musical premiered in January and successfully ended its first season and is now back again for another four-week run at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts Center in central Seoul.

The show stars singer Park Hyo-shin and musical actors Park Eun-tae and Kai as Beethoven. Jo Jung-eun, Ock Joo-hyun and Yoon Gong-joo will alternate the role of Antonie. It is performed in Korean, without foreign language subtitles.

Tickets range from 80,000 won to 170,000 won.

Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, exit 8

HEROBlue Square, Shinhan Card HallThrough May 21:The Korean musical “Hero,” which centers on the life of Ahn Jung-geun, the Korean independence fighter who was executed in 1910 after assassinating Japanese Resident-General Ito Hirobumi, will be back again at the Blue Square in central Seoul.

The musical has recently been turned into a film by director Yoon Je-kyun.

The musical stars actor Jung Sung-hwa who plays the lead character Ahn in the film as well. Musical actor Yang Jun-mo and Min Woo-hyuk will also alternate the role with Jung.

The musical starts at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends. There are no shows on Mondays.

Tickets range from 70,000 won to 150,000 won.

Hangangjin Station, line No. 6, exit 2

SEOUL JAZZ FESTIVAL 2023Olympic ParkMay 26 – 28:This year’s 15th edition of the popular Seoul Jazz Festival will be held for three days.

The festival will feature artists including Sergio Mendes, Mika, Damien Rice, Gregory Porter, Robert Glasper, Kamal, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Mina Okabe and Sigrid. Korean acts include Crush, AKMU, Jung Seung-hwan, Taeyang, Epik High, among many others. A three-day ticket costs 420,000 won.

Olympic Park Station, line No. 5, exit 3

KING LEARSeoul Arts Center, CJ Towol Theater

Veteran actor Lee Soon-jae plays Lear in Shakespeare's ″King Lear.″ [GWANAK THEATER COMPANY]

June 1 – 18:Veteran actor Lee Soon-jae’s “King Lear” is returning to be staged at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. Korea has staged productions of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy before, but according to the organizers, all of them were so heavily abridged they could barely be considered “truly Shakespeare’s.”

But this production, according to the organizers, is "as close to the original” as possible, with a running time of three hours and 20 minutes. Lee is onstage for most of that time. Lee will appear in all scheduled performances. He will not alternate with another actor, as is common in Korean stage productions.

Though there are numerous Korean translations of "King Lear," director Lee Hyun-woo decided to translate it himself.

Tickets range from 44,000 won to 99,000 won.

The performance begins at 7 p.m. on weekdays, at 3 p.m. on weekends. There are no performances on Mondays. Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5

DEATH NOTE Charlotte TheaterThrough June 18:The Korean production of the musical “Death Note” is making a return at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul.

The musical is based on the Japanese manga series of the same title by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.

With music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by Jack Murphy, the musical premiered in Korea in 2015.

The story follows a high school student named Light Yagami, who stumbles upon a notebook that kills those whose names get written in it.

Actors Hong Kwang-ho and Ko Eun-sung alternate the role of Light Yagami, while Kim Jun-su and Kim Sung-cheol alternate the role of L. Jang Eun-ah and Lee Young-mi will alternate the role Misa Amane.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends and public holidays. There are no shows on Mondays.

Tickets range from 80,000 won to 160,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 3

SIX THE MUSICALCOEX Shinhan Card Artium

Son Seung-yeon, also known as Sonnet, as Catherine of Aragon in ongoing run of ″SIX: The Musical″ at COEX Shinhan Card Artium in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [IAMCULTURE]

Through June 25:British musical comedy “SIX,” with the book, music and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, is being staged at the COEX Shinhan Card Artium in southern Seoul. Right after the original production came to an end, the Korean production began in the same venue.

The show revolves around the six wives of Henry VIII, who compete to tell their story of how much they suffered due to their husband, in the style of a pop concert.

The musical premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017 and was performed by students from Cambridge University. It then went to West End in 2019, followed by Broadway in March 2020.

The cast includes Lee Areumsol and Son Seung-yeon playing the role of Catherine of Aragon, Bae Soo-jeong and Kim Ji-woo playing Anne Boleyn, and Park Hae-na and Park Ga-ram playing Jane Seymour, Choi Hyun-sun and Kim Ji-sun playing Anne of Cleves, Kim Ryeo-won playing Katherine Howard and Hong Ji-hee and Yoo Joo-hye playing Catherine Parr.

Tickets range from 60,000 won to 120,000 won.

The show begins at 8 p.m. on weekdays and at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on weekends and public holidays. There are no shows on Mondays.

Samsung Station, line No. 2, exit 5 or 6

MAMMA MIA!Chungmu Arts CenterThrough June 25: The Korean production of this megahit musical is returning to the Chungmu Arts Center in central Seoul. Sophie is about to get married and wants her father to give her away, but the problem is she doesn’t know who her father is. After taking a peek in her mother’s diary, she discovers that he could be one of three candidates, so she tricks them all into attending her wedding.

The cast includes veteran musical actors Choi Jung-won and Shin Young-sook as Donna.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends. There are no shows on Mondays.

Tickets range from 70,000 won to 150,000 won.

Sindang Station, line No. 6, exit 9

*Most tickets are available at ticket.interpark.com/global or by calling 1544-1555

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]