Seoul Station, 2030. Kim Soon-bok, an 80-year-old woman, waits for the Arirang, a trans-continental train bound for Berlin. One by one, people who lived through the turmoil of war and industrialization appear before her. Among them is her husband, who died in a West German coal mine. To the melody of "Arirang," eight decades of her life come back to life.
"Arirang," the folk song that carries the joys and sorrows of the Korean people, unfolds on stage through one woman's life. With BTS having drawn global attention to the song through its fifth full-length album, the Jeongdong Theater of Korea's resident company is presenting "Arirang," an original musical built on traditional Korean performance arts.
The Jeongdong Theater of Korea said on the 16th that the new production will run from Dec. 2 to 27 at the theater in Seoul. It is the company's first new work since Seo Seung-man took office as chief executive.
The musical follows the life of Kim Soon-bok, born in 1950, retracing the turning points of modern Korean history. Several true stories from that period are woven into the plot. Soon-bok's birth was inspired by the Hungnam evacuation during the Korean War. She is cast as a baby born aboard the SS Meredith Victory, the U.S. cargo ship that left Hungnam Port in December 1950 carrying some 14,000 refugees.
Marking her 80th birthday, Soon-bok sets out on the first long journey of her life and waits for the train to Berlin. But Seoul Station is not a real place — it is a virtual space created by an artificial intelligence program that retraces memories to heal old wounds. Two AI robots, Jabi and Yeobi, summon up the years of her past one by one. Through the smoke of war, the haze of tear gas and the clatter of factory conveyor belts, people who vanished return to the Seoul Station platform. The theater said the production "connects one person's life to the current of modern Korean history, bringing to the center of the stage the lives and emotions of ordinary people who lived through that era, along with true stories that have not been fully illuminated until now."
This year carries particular significance for "Arirang." It marks the 100th anniversary of the release of director Na Woon-kyu's film "Arirang" and the 140th anniversary of the song being transcribed in Western staff notation. Added to that, BTS released an album titled "Arirang" and staged its comeback performance at Gwanghwamun, bringing renewed attention to the song's historical meaning and contemporary value.
The Jeongdong Theater of Korea describes the work as a "traditional musical," explaining that it combines traditional Korean performance arts with the song, dance and acting of contemporary musical theater. A theater official said the production is "an attempt to recreate traditional performance, our cultural archetype, in the stage language of our own time," adding that it "will be a stage that preserves the essence of tradition while exploring new possibilities of expression."
The creative team also draws attention. Playwright Kim Eun-sung and composer Won Il are working together for a second time, following "The Merchants of Venice" at the National Changgeuk Company of Korea. For Kim, it is a first attempt at a musical that incorporates the language of dance. Won composed more than 10 new pieces for the production, drawing on the familiar melody and emotional register of "Arirang" to vary the characters' feelings and the mood of each era.
Woo Jae-hyun handled the adaptation and direction. Lee Gyu-woon, an artistic adviser to the theater's resident company, is in charge of choreography. Having previously choreographed "Gwangdae" and "Dansim," Lee again builds the story around the dynamic movement of traditional performance.
The role of Soon-bok is shared by actress Yang Keum-seok, a certified practitioner of Gyeonggi folk song, and Chae Yeon-jung, who has appeared in the plays "Chunseom's Lie" and "Home Sweet Home." Yang will draw on her understanding of Gyeonggi folk song and her acting experience to portray the character's life. Lee Eun-ho, who has appeared in the musicals "Yumi's Cells" and "Bonnie & Clyde," plays Jabi, the android AI robot that calls up Soon-bok's memories, while Kim Yeon-jun, whose credits include "Beethoven" and "The Man in Hanbok," joins as Yeobi.
