Performing arts were a hit in 2019

The total revenue made by Korean performing arts soared in 2019 thanks to rising demand for big-budget musicals, data showed Friday.

The Korean performance market posted a total of 226.9 billion won ($195.3 million) in sales from January to December, according to the data from the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (Kopis).

The 2019 numbers rose sharply from an estimated 83.3 billion won in revenue tallied a year ago.

About 11,000 shows and musicals, plays and classical concerts drew 8 million people to performances this year.

Musicals were the most popular form of performing arts in Korea, with 162.5 billion won in revenue accounting for 71.6 percent of the total sales.

People bought 28.3 billion won worth of tickets for plays in 2019, while classical concerts and dance performances earned 18.3 billion won and 11 billion won, respectively.

The Kopis data also showed that musical “Rebecca,” based on the novel of the same name, sold the most tickets in December, followed by Broadway musicals “Aida” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

Led by the Cultural Ministry, Kopis was launched in late June to create a database of ticket sales and productions for plays, musicals, classical concerts and various other non-cinematic productions.

Yonhap