Since its establishment nearly three decades ago, Seensee Company has grown into one of the country’s leading professional musical theater companies.

It has introduced world famous musical products to local theatergoers over the years since it was first formed in 1987.  These days, helmed by theater guru Park Myung-sung, Seensee continues to thrive as one of the leading forces in Korea’s musical and theater scene. 


“Although when you think of musicals you naturally think of Broadway and West End -- rightfully so -- Seoul is slowly increasing its reputation as a thriving musical city,” said Seensee Company president Park, 52, during an interview with The Korea Herald earlier this month.

Park kick-started his career in the local performing arts scene as a college graduate. Back then, he had the ambition of becoming the next big headlining theater actor. Park soon discovered that his dreams of being in the spotlight as an actor might not be attainable. 

“Despite how much I truly loved and longed to be onstage, I was told that I did not have enough talent to become a successful actor,” he says. 


“So back then I decided that instead of continuing to pursue a dream that was unlikely to ever come true, I chose to switch my ambition to directing and producing.”

The move proved to be a wise one as Park eventually made a name for himself as one of the country’s most celebrated musical directors, best known for his Korean-language adaptions of mainstream Broadways hits such as “Aida” and “Mamma Mia!”

“Instead of focusing on snagging original big name musicals, which brings along its own team of cast members, production and directing crews, I like giving the audience something they will be able to enjoy in their own native tongue,” Park explains. “This is why we began producing our own local rendition of popular shows.”

Shortage of original Korean productions

Seensee’s Korean remakes of major Broadway hits have been successful, however, the homegrown musical industry is still lacking, says Park.

“I’m afraid the future of original Korean musicals is still bleak. We need more companies that are willing to invest their time and money on writing and producing productions that are purely Korean, but thus far it hasn’t proved profitable, which just makes it even more difficult.”

However, despite the grim prospects, Park defied odds last summer when he launched the world premiere of the homegrown musical “Arirang.” 


An adaptation of renowned Korean novelist Jo Jung-rae’s eponymous novel, “Arirang” the musical came after decades of failed attempts to adapt Jo’s 20,000-page tale of Japan’s colonization of the peninsula into a screenplay for TV or film. Despite the seemingly daunting task of trying to condense 12 volumes of script into a single live production, Park put in nearly three years of hard work to bring the novel to the musical stage.

“Being able to bring this production to life was one of the most important moments of this company’s existence,” said Park. “Not only because it stands as one of the handful of Korea’s original musical productions, but also because it’s a story that stems from an important aspect of the country’s history, its struggles and its triumphs. It’s one of the musicals that almost all Koreans can, and should, relate to.”

Following its much-anticipated premiere, Park shared that “Arirang” will soon be returning to the stage with slight tweaks to a number of scenes as well as the addition of a number of new musical scores.

K-pop stars take to theater stage 

Casting K-pop stars in musical productions has become almost routine in Korea, although Broadway too is certainly no stranger to shows fronted by big-time Hollywood talent.

“I know there are a lot of differing opinions when it comes to K-pop stars and their abilities to perform as musical actors,” said Park. “However, that doesn’t mean that these stars are unqualified to be on the stage because everyone goes through the same audition and training processes. Obviously, I am not one of those who thinks casting K-pop stars is a bad thing, after all I have hired a number of them for my shows.” 


Although the inclusion of A-list K-pop stars in musicals has now become the norm, many critics have bashed the proliferation of idols on the theater stage, stating that although they may sing well in recording studios, most do not possess the raw talent to match musically trained actors when it comes to live, onstage vocal performances. 

“My approach when it comes to hiring non-musically trained big name talents, such as K-pop stars, is that I would never cast someone just for their ‘star power’ in the hopes of selling more tickets. Because let’s face it, if they are not a right match for the role, and if they don’t perform well, not only is that bad for the reputation of our production but it also reflects badly on the artist’s reputation.”

“The most important thing to me when casting roles, whether they are a musical professional or a K-pop star, is do they fit the role? And do they have the ability to own the role onstage?” he says. “Take a look at Ock Joo-hyun or Ivy for example, I gave them their first starts in musicals and now look at them – they are now known more as musical actresses, not as K-pop stars.” 


Seensee Company is currently staging its latest theater play production, “Let Me In,” a Korean reinterpretation of the play that was adapted from the Swedish romantic horror film, “Let the Right One In.” The production is being staged at Seoul Arts Center’s Towol Theater until Feb. 28.

The company is also gearing up to raise the curtains on it latest run of “Mamma Mia!” starring Choi Jung-won, Shin Young-sook, Jeon Soo-kyung and Girls’ Generation member Seohyun. The musical will be held at the Charlotte Theater from Feb. 20 to June 4.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)