Park Chun-hue on Tony win: 'Maybe Happy Ending' wasn’t supposed to succeed -- until it did
“Maybe Happy Ending,” the Broadway adaptation of the Korean musical, emerged as the season's breakout success, earning six Tony Awards, including best musical, on June 8.
The creative duo behind the show are Korean lyricist and book writer Park Chun-hue, also known as Hue Park, and American writer and composer Will Aronson.
In a press conference with Korean media Tuesday in Seoul, Park reflected on the historic achievement of becoming the first Korean to receive a Tony. He spoke candidly about his journey from self-doubt to recognition and shared behind-the-scenes stories about bringing the musical to Broadway. He also recounted the moment during his acceptance speech when he shouted, “I’m very much single!” — a line that quickly went viral.
“Will and I tend to work intensely—there were times we argued for days over a single word. But in the end, it all came from a place of sincerity. It was never about doing something halfway. We pushed each other to create something we wouldn’t be embarrassed by. And I think when the audience sees that kind of honesty, they come to understand and accept it.”
Other than this intense collaboration with Aronson, Park admits he does not have a clear answer for why the musical became such a success on Broadway. “If I knew, I’d be writing nothing but hits,” he said.
“What I can say now — because the outcome turned out well — is that many of the things people initially pointed out as reasons why the show wouldn’t succeed actually became part of its appeal,” Park noted.
“For example, the fact that it was an original work without well-known source material, or the fact that the story is set in Korea and features Korean robot characters — before the show opened, that was actually considered one of the biggest reasons it might not work,” he recalled.
In fact, when Wooran Foundation, which funded the project in 2014, suggested developing the show for Broadway from the outset, citing the team’s unique Korean-American collaboration, Park and Aronson initially declined.
“Will and I thought it was an ambitious idea and told them it wasn’t necessary. But they said they’d support us regardless of the outcome. Since we were writing in both languages anyway, we ended up doing a reading session in New York,” Park recalled.
When they did a reading workshop in Atlanta, there were several producers who were interested in the show; some did not like the background being in Korea and wanted to change it.
That suggestion was easy to dismiss because Park simply did not want to.
Park credited his formative experience in Korea as essential to withstanding the pressures of Broadway.
“As someone who wasn’t yet a seasoned writer, I think I would’ve easily changed lines or scenes if people had asked me to (when creating the Broadway version), had I not experienced that strong sense of resonance and support in Korea,” he said. “The fact that Korean audiences understood and embraced the story gave me the conviction to stand my ground when it came to protecting the work,” he said.
With Korea's strong fandom of "Maybe Happy Ending" — who call themselves “HelperBots” — as the backbone of his confidence, Park was surprised to witness a similar phenomenon on Broadway, where a new fandom emerged, affectionately dubbed the “Fireflies.”
“I used to think the idea of ‘revolving door’ fans — those who come back to see the same show over and over — was unique to Korea,” Park said. “But it turns out there are just as many passionate fans there who return again and again on Broadway as well.”
Regarding the viral speech at the Tony Awards, he said he had prepared the line.
As the duo prepared their speeches just in case they won, Park recalled being advised to keep his words short and simple since most people in the audience likely would not recognize the names he wanted to mention.
“A lot of people think we’re a couple,” Park joked. “But Will is happily married, and I’m very much single. I couldn’t let that misconception ruin my chances of getting married.”
With his latest success, many are anticipating the duo's next project. After “Maybe Happy Ending,” the two created two more musicals together — “Il Tenore” and “Ghost Bakery.”
“I think about whether a musical that needs to feature 24 Asian actors would be a feasible idea on Broadway. But I remember watching ‘The King and I’ at the Lincoln Center. It’s my dream to bring ‘Il Tenore’ to Lincoln Center before I die,” he said.
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