'Suyang,' musical 'Once,' 2NE1 concert and other shows to check out in Korea
Published: 20 Mar. 2025, 13:13
Updated: 20 Mar. 2025, 13:20
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- YIM SEUNG-HYE
- [email protected]
PAIK KUN-WOO AND MOZART 〈PROGRAM II〉
Seoul Arts Center, Concert Hall
March 27: Pianist Paik Kun-woo will be holding a recital, performing more of Mozart’s pieces. After releasing his first Mozart album last April, he started a nationwide tour the following month and performed in 13 cities. He is now kicking off a second round of national tour with a different program of Mozart pieces.
The program includes Mozart's "Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major K. 545,” "Rondo in A Minor K. 511," "Piano Sonata No. 2 in F Major K. 280,” "Adagio for Glass harmonica in C Major K. 356/617a,” "Little Funeral March in C Minor K. 453a,” "Piano Sonata No. 10 in CMajor K. 330” and "Fantasia in C Minor K. 475.”
Tickets range from 50,000 won ($34.30) to 120,000 won.
The performance begins at 7:30 p.m.
Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5
LAST EMPRESS
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Grand Theater
![Actor Cha Ji-yeon as Empress Myeongseong in the musical ″Last Empress″ currently running at Sejong Center for the Arts in Jongno District, central Seoul [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/20/1c8044f9-3088-45e3-b535-c2ed388f599e.jpg)
March 30: “Last Empress,” also known as “Empress Myeongseong” in Korean, is celebrating its 30th year since its premiere. The musical is about the namesake queen (1851-1895), her marriage to King Gojong (1852-1919), her leadership in diplomacy and her eventual assassination by the Japanese, who viewed her as an obstacle to foreign expansion.
For this ongoing run, which began Jan. 21, the creative team has yet again updated the production, including tweaks to the plot, Korean subtitles during songs and — most notably — a reversion to the “analog art of staging.”
The musical’s artistic director Yoon Ho-jin, who is also a renowned theater director, came up with the idea for the musical in the early 1990s after watching “Cats” in London. He famously rounded up three of the country’s best artistic talents — writer Yi Mun-yeol, composer Kim Hee-gab and lyricist Yang In-ja — to helm “Last Empress,” which premiered in Seoul in 1995 and became the first Asian musical to open on Broadway two years later.
The musical on Feb. 5 became the first homegrown musical to see over 2 million attendees, according to its producer Acom.
Actors Cha Ji-yeon, Kim So-hyun and Shin Young-sook alternate the role of Empress Myeongseong.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and public holidays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. There are no shows on Mondays.
Tickets range from 60,000 won to 160,000 won.
Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, exit 8
KIM SUN-WOOK AND CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF EUROPE
Lotte Concert Hall
![Pianist and conductor Kim Sun-wook [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/20/7dc29acb-b9f8-48d5-9903-b7b76193af8a.jpg)
April 7 and 8: Pianist and conductor Kim Sun-wook will be holding the baton and assuming a seat at the piano for the Chamber Orchestra of Europe’s Seoul concert at the Lotte Concert Hall.
The orchestra was founded in 1981 by a group of talented young musicians across Europe who had previously performed together in the European Community Youth Orchestra (now the European Union Youth Orchestra). Its last visit to Korea was in 2022, and Kim accompanied the orchestra as a pianist. For the upcoming two-day concert, Kim will be on stage both as a conductor and a pianist and will perform Beethoven’s complete piano concertos.
On April 7, the orchestra and Kim will perform concertos Nos. 1, 2 and 4 in the concertos and on April 8, they’ll perform Nos. 3, 5 and “Emperor.”
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on both days.
Tickets range from 50,000 won to 180,000 won.
Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 1 or 2
MUSICAL "ONCE”
COEX Shinhan Card Artium
![The cast of the musical ″Once″ perform during the musical's pre-show on Feb. 26 at COEX Artium in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/20/44a5a086-e9c0-4144-9ec8-b3c5925fc215.jpg)
Through May 31: The Tony-winning musical is known for starring talented actor-musicians impressively playing up to nine different instruments. It is also a heart-wrenching drama of self-discovery and romance, as many who’ve either seen the show or the namesake 2007 movie on which the musical is based know. The musical’s book is by Enda Walsh and the music is by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who also worked on the film’s score and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008 for the indie folk song “Falling Slowly” (2006).
It premiered in 2011 in New York as a workshop production and made it to Broadway in 2012. The same year, it won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Actor and Best Book of a Musical. The show also holds a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album, which was awarded in 2013.
"Once" was staged in Korea in 2014 as a licensed production with Korean actors, and then again in 2015 with the original production’s world tour cast. Since then, a few things have changed, most notably its translated script — this time done by Hwang Seok-hee, known for his witty Korean translation of the Hollywood film “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017).
For the ongoing production, actors Park Ji-yeon and Lee Ye-eun alternate the role of Girl, while actors Lee Choong-joo, Han Seung-yun and Yoon Hyung-ryul alternate Guy.
Tickets range from 80,000 won to 160,000 won.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. from Tuesdays to Fridays and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. There are no shows on Mondays.
Samsung Station, line No. 2, exit 5 or 6
2NE1 CONCERT [WELCOME BACK] ENCORE IN SEOUL
KSPO Dome
April 12 and 13: Girl group 2NE1 is holding a two-day encore concert series in Seoul. The "Welcome Back" Asian tour began on Oct. 4, 2024, at Olympic Hall in southern Seoul to celebrate the 15th anniversary of 2NE1's debut. Ticket sales for the encore concerts will begin on Feb. 10 on Interpark. Sales for members of the group’s temporary fan club opened on Feb. 5.
The group has performed in several major Asian cities, including Manila, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kobe and Tokyo in Japan and Bangkok.
2NE1 took the stage at "SBS Gayo Daejeon," a major domestic music festival held on Dec. 25, 2024, where the group showcased several of its hit songs, including “Come Back Home” (2014), “Fire” (2009) and “I Am the Best” (2011).
Tickets range from 165,000 won to 209,000 won.
The concert starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Olympic Park Station, line No. 5 and 9, exit 3 or 4
STAYC TOUR ‘STAY TUNED’
Olympic Park, Olympic Hall
April 12 and 13: Following the release of its new album in March, girl group STAYC is embarking on a world tour in April, kicking it off with a two concerts in Seoul's Olympic Park. This concert series will be STAYC's second world tour after its inaugural world tour, "Teenfresh," which took the group to 15 cities last year.
STAYC debuted in 2020 with its single "SO BAD" and is known for hits like "ASAP" (2021) and "RUN2U" (2022). The six-member act consists of Sieun, Seeun, Sumin, J, Isa and Yoon.
Tickets range from 143,000 won to 187,000 won.
The concert begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Olympic Park Station, line No. 5 and 9, exit 3 or 4
2025 DISNEY IN CONCERT: BEYOND THE MAGIC
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts
May 10 and 11: Since its Korean premiere in 2014, “Disney in Concert” has continuously gained popularity. Children attend the concerts dressed as their favorite Disney characters in what is becoming an annual ritual. For the upcoming concert, songs from Disney classics "The Lion King” (1994), “Aladdin” (1992) and “Little Mermaid” (1989) as well as more recent works like "Frozen” (2013), "Moana” (2016) and "Coco” (2017) will be performed accompanied by the Ditto Orchestra.
Singers Song Eun-hye, Lee Areumsol, Kim Kyung-rok and Lee Jong-seok will be singing the songs in English.
Children must be at least four years old to attend.
Tickets, which range from 44,000 won to 110,000 won, will go on sale from Feb. 25.
The concert begins at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, exit 8
JEKYLL AND HYDE
Blue Square, Shinhan Card Hall
Through May 18: The popular musical “Jekyll and Hyde,” which tells the tale of an epic battle between good and evil, has been loved in Korea since its first performance in 2004.
The cast includes Hong Kwang-ho, Jeon Dong-seok and Kim Seong-cheol in the roles of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde, and Yoon Gong-ju, Seon-min and Kim Hwan-hee playing the role of Lucy Harris.
The musical begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays; and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends. There are no shows on Mondays.
Tickets range from 80,000 won to 170,000 won.
Hangangjin Station, line No. 6, exit 2 or 3
ALADDIN
Charlotte Theater
![A scene from the Korean production of ″Aladdin″ featuring Jung Sung-hwa as Genie, left, and Park Kang-hyun as Aladdin [S&CO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/20/b9b3836a-ae67-4c9f-96d8-af21d9685f0d.jpg)
Through June 22: The Korean musical production of Disney classic "Aladdin” has premiered at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul. The original stage iteration, with book by Chad Beguelin, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, Beguelin and Tim Rice, premiered on Broadway a decade ago.
Lee Sung-kyung, Min Kyung-ah and Choi Ji-hye alternate Jasmine while Kim Jun-su, Seo Kyung-soo and Park Kang-hyun alternate the role of Aladdin.
Tickets range from 90,000 won to 190,000 won.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and at 3 p.m. on Sundays. There are no shows on Mondays.
Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 3
*Most tickets are available at ticket.interpark.com/global or by calling 1544-1555
BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
Seoul Arts Center, Concert Hall
March 27: Pianist Paik Kun-woo will be holding a recital, performing more of Mozart’s pieces. After releasing his first Mozart album last April, he started a nationwide tour the following month and performed in 13 cities. He is now kicking off a second round of national tour with a different program of Mozart pieces.
The program includes Mozart's "Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major K. 545,” "Rondo in A Minor K. 511," "Piano Sonata No. 2 in F Major K. 280,” "Adagio for Glass harmonica in C Major K. 356/617a,” "Little Funeral March in C Minor K. 453a,” "Piano Sonata No. 10 in CMajor K. 330” and "Fantasia in C Minor K. 475.”
Tickets range from 50,000 won ($34.30) to 120,000 won.
The performance begins at 7:30 p.m.
Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5
LAST EMPRESS
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Grand Theater
Actor Cha Ji-yeon as Empress Myeongseong in the musical ″Last Empress″ currently running at Sejong Center for the Arts in Jongno District, central Seoul [YONHAP]
March 30: “Last Empress,” also known as “Empress Myeongseong” in Korean, is celebrating its 30th year since its premiere. The musical is about the namesake queen (1851-1895), her marriage to King Gojong (1852-1919), her leadership in diplomacy and her eventual assassination by the Japanese, who viewed her as an obstacle to foreign expansion.
For this ongoing run, which began Jan. 21, the creative team has yet again updated the production, including tweaks to the plot, Korean subtitles during songs and — most notably — a reversion to the “analog art of staging.”
The musical’s artistic director Yoon Ho-jin, who is also a renowned theater director, came up with the idea for the musical in the early 1990s after watching “Cats” in London. He famously rounded up three of the country’s best artistic talents — writer Yi Mun-yeol, composer Kim Hee-gab and lyricist Yang In-ja — to helm “Last Empress,” which premiered in Seoul in 1995 and became the first Asian musical to open on Broadway two years later.
The musical on Feb. 5 became the first homegrown musical to see over 2 million attendees, according to its producer Acom.
Actors Cha Ji-yeon, Kim So-hyun and Shin Young-sook alternate the role of Empress Myeongseong.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and public holidays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. There are no shows on Mondays.
Tickets range from 60,000 won to 160,000 won.
Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, exit 8
KIM SUN-WOOK AND CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF EUROPE
Lotte Concert Hall
Pianist and conductor Kim Sun-wook [JOONGANG ILBO]
April 7 and 8: Pianist and conductor Kim Sun-wook will be holding the baton and assuming a seat at the piano for the Chamber Orchestra of Europe’s Seoul concert at the Lotte Concert Hall.
The orchestra was founded in 1981 by a group of talented young musicians across Europe who had previously performed together in the European Community Youth Orchestra (now the European Union Youth Orchestra). Its last visit to Korea was in 2022, and Kim accompanied the orchestra as a pianist. For the upcoming two-day concert, Kim will be on stage both as a conductor and a pianist and will perform Beethoven’s complete piano concertos.
On April 7, the orchestra and Kim will perform concertos Nos. 1, 2 and 4 in the concertos and on April 8, they’ll perform Nos. 3, 5 and “Emperor.”
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on both days.
Tickets range from 50,000 won to 180,000 won.
Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 1 or 2
MUSICAL "ONCE”
COEX Shinhan Card Artium
The cast of the musical ″Once″ perform during the musical's pre-show on Feb. 26 at COEX Artium in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [YONHAP]
Through May 31: The Tony-winning musical is known for starring talented actor-musicians impressively playing up to nine different instruments. It is also a heart-wrenching drama of self-discovery and romance, as many who’ve either seen the show or the namesake 2007 movie on which the musical is based know. The musical’s book is by Enda Walsh and the music is by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who also worked on the film’s score and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008 for the indie folk song “Falling Slowly” (2006).
It premiered in 2011 in New York as a workshop production and made it to Broadway in 2012. The same year, it won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Actor and Best Book of a Musical. The show also holds a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album, which was awarded in 2013.
"Once" was staged in Korea in 2014 as a licensed production with Korean actors, and then again in 2015 with the original production’s world tour cast. Since then, a few things have changed, most notably its translated script — this time done by Hwang Seok-hee, known for his witty Korean translation of the Hollywood film “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017).
For the ongoing production, actors Park Ji-yeon and Lee Ye-eun alternate the role of Girl, while actors Lee Choong-joo, Han Seung-yun and Yoon Hyung-ryul alternate Guy.
Tickets range from 80,000 won to 160,000 won.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. from Tuesdays to Fridays and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. There are no shows on Mondays.
Samsung Station, line No. 2, exit 5 or 6
2NE1 CONCERT [WELCOME BACK] ENCORE IN SEOUL
KSPO Dome
April 12 and 13: Girl group 2NE1 is holding a two-day encore concert series in Seoul. The "Welcome Back" Asian tour began on Oct. 4, 2024, at Olympic Hall in southern Seoul to celebrate the 15th anniversary of 2NE1's debut. Ticket sales for the encore concerts will begin on Feb. 10 on Interpark. Sales for members of the group’s temporary fan club opened on Feb. 5.
The group has performed in several major Asian cities, including Manila, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kobe and Tokyo in Japan and Bangkok.
2NE1 took the stage at "SBS Gayo Daejeon," a major domestic music festival held on Dec. 25, 2024, where the group showcased several of its hit songs, including “Come Back Home” (2014), “Fire” (2009) and “I Am the Best” (2011).
Tickets range from 165,000 won to 209,000 won.
The concert starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Olympic Park Station, line No. 5 and 9, exit 3 or 4
STAYC TOUR ‘STAY TUNED’
Olympic Park, Olympic Hall
April 12 and 13: Following the release of its new album in March, girl group STAYC is embarking on a world tour in April, kicking it off with a two concerts in Seoul's Olympic Park. This concert series will be STAYC's second world tour after its inaugural world tour, "Teenfresh," which took the group to 15 cities last year.
STAYC debuted in 2020 with its single "SO BAD" and is known for hits like "ASAP" (2021) and "RUN2U" (2022). The six-member act consists of Sieun, Seeun, Sumin, J, Isa and Yoon.
Tickets range from 143,000 won to 187,000 won.
The concert begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Olympic Park Station, line No. 5 and 9, exit 3 or 4
2025 DISNEY IN CONCERT: BEYOND THE MAGIC
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts
May 10 and 11: Since its Korean premiere in 2014, “Disney in Concert” has continuously gained popularity. Children attend the concerts dressed as their favorite Disney characters in what is becoming an annual ritual. For the upcoming concert, songs from Disney classics "The Lion King” (1994), “Aladdin” (1992) and “Little Mermaid” (1989) as well as more recent works like "Frozen” (2013), "Moana” (2016) and "Coco” (2017) will be performed accompanied by the Ditto Orchestra.
Singers Song Eun-hye, Lee Areumsol, Kim Kyung-rok and Lee Jong-seok will be singing the songs in English.
Children must be at least four years old to attend.
Tickets, which range from 44,000 won to 110,000 won, will go on sale from Feb. 25.
The concert begins at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, exit 8
JEKYLL AND HYDE
Blue Square, Shinhan Card Hall
Through May 18: The popular musical “Jekyll and Hyde,” which tells the tale of an epic battle between good and evil, has been loved in Korea since its first performance in 2004.
The cast includes Hong Kwang-ho, Jeon Dong-seok and Kim Seong-cheol in the roles of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde, and Yoon Gong-ju, Seon-min and Kim Hwan-hee playing the role of Lucy Harris.
The musical begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays; and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends. There are no shows on Mondays.
Tickets range from 80,000 won to 170,000 won.
Hangangjin Station, line No. 6, exit 2 or 3
ALADDIN
Charlotte Theater
A scene from the Korean production of ″Aladdin″ featuring Jung Sung-hwa as Genie, left, and Park Kang-hyun as Aladdin [S&CO]
Through June 22: The Korean musical production of Disney classic "Aladdin” has premiered at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul. The original stage iteration, with book by Chad Beguelin, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, Beguelin and Tim Rice, premiered on Broadway a decade ago.
Lee Sung-kyung, Min Kyung-ah and Choi Ji-hye alternate Jasmine while Kim Jun-su, Seo Kyung-soo and Park Kang-hyun alternate the role of Aladdin.
Tickets range from 90,000 won to 190,000 won.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and at 3 p.m. on Sundays. There are no shows on Mondays.
Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 3
*Most tickets are available at ticket.interpark.com/global or by calling 1544-1555
BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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