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Korean stage shows find fresh ways to interact with audiences

Published: 08 Apr. 2025, 07:00

Actor-musicians perform during the musical ″Once″ at Coex Artium in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [SENSEE COMPANY]

In a growing number of musical productions across Korea, audiences are being invited not just to watch the show — but to become a part of it.

From singing along with actors to standing on stage and sipping drinks right in front of the performers, a new wave of interactive and immersive theater is challenging Korea’s traditionally passive theater culture.

These productions are turning away from what critics call the “corpse-like” audience norm — a rigid expectation that theatergoers sit still and silent throughout performances. Instead, they blur the line between stage and seating, encouraging audiences to enjoy performances in a more relaxed and participatory way.

At the musical “Once” running through April 31 at Coex Artium in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, audience members can walk directly onto the stage 30 minutes before the performance. There, they can buy drinks from an onstage bar and mingle with the set.

Ten minutes before the show begins, the actors emerge from the crowd to perform a “pre-show” concert among the guests, seamlessly transitioning into the main performance afterward.

Actor Lee Choong-joo plays the guitar as Guy during the musical ″Once″ at Coex Artium in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [SENSEE COMPANY]

Conor Hanratty, associate director of the Korean production of “Once,” said the cast aimed to foster a close connection between the audience and performers before the story begins through the pre-show during a rehearsal preview in February.

In another break from convention, the pansori — a traditional Korean musical form — musical “Red Cliff” recently hosted “sing-along days” on Wednesday and Thursday, encouraging the audience to join the cast in performing the number “Oath of the Peach Garden” during the curtain call.

Held at the National Jeongdong Theater through April 20, the show also welcomes audience responses, including traditional chuimsae — cheer-like exclamations common in pansori. The theater even shared videos on social media offering viewing tips that include how to appropriately shout out chuimsae during the performance.

Korean traditional performance ″Red Cliff″ is being performed at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul. [JEONGDONG THEATER]

Some shows go further, allowing freedom not just after or before the main act, but during it. The musical “Shadow : A New Musical — The Beginning,” based on the story of Korean King Yeongjo and Crown Prince Sado, removed all seating for its recent showcase performances on March 22 and 23. The standing-room format, reminiscent of rock concerts, encouraged a more dynamic interaction between audience and stage.

“London Record,” an open-run musical with no closing date, allows viewers to freely film the performance and enjoy food and drinks throughout, a rare practice in Korean theater.

In genres where viewing customs have traditionally been more flexible — such as dance — immersive performances are already well established.

The Argentine dance troupe Fuerza Bruta, known for turning the entire venue into a performance space, returns to Korea for its sixth visit since 2013. Its latest show, “Aven,” runs through June 22 and invites the audience to move through the space with the dancers.

″Red Cliff″ mixes modern dance and pansori (Korean traditional narrative singing) to tell the story of the three heroes of the Three Kingdoms (57 B.C.-A.D. 668). [JEONGDONG THEATER]

The Seoul Ballet Theatre's recent production of “Decadance” also featured audience participation. In one segment, a spectator was invited onstage to dance alongside professional performers.

“I can't dance at all, but once I got on stage, I found myself moving naturally,” the audience member said afterward.

In theater, interactivity is being explored through alternate endings. The long-running play “Shear Madness,” currently being staged in Daehak-ro, Jongno District, central Seoul, changes its plot based on audience input, with viewers helping solve a fictional murder case. The outcome varies with each performance depending on the audience’s deductions and interactions with the cast.

“The viewing culture for musicals and theater in Korea has been unusually rigid, to a degree rarely seen abroad,” said Won Jong-won, professor of performing arts and media arts at Soonchunhyang University. “It’s a positive development to see diverse formats emerging that highlight the collective enjoyment of live performance.”

BY HA NAM-HYUN [[email protected]]