First licensed Chinese musical attracts Korean audience with resonating story

The first-ever licensed musical from China, "The Butterfly on the Bund 1939," premiered Saturday at TOM Theater in Daehangno, marking a milestone for Chinese production companies and fulfilling the collaborative aspirations of the two countries' creators.

The musical, a joint effort between Shanghai-based Focustage and Seoul-based Never Ending Play, revolves around two women living in turbulent 1939 Shanghai.

“I think the script and music of ‘The Butterfly on the Bund 1939,’ are profound. The way it condenses and personalizes Chinese history gives it a sense of elegance and refinement,” Oh Se-hyeok, playwright and the founder and CEO of Seoul-based Never Ending Play, told The Korea Herald on Tuesday.

The original musical, created by a team comprising new playwrights Hua An, Zhao Xinyuon and composers Zhang Yutong and Ye Jianfeng, premiered in January 2023 in Shanghai. Since then, it has been performed nearly 200 times across 20 Chinese cities and continues to tour.

After seeing the musical in June 2023, Oh believed it would resonate with Korean audiences. Around that time, the Chinese company was eyeing global expansion, leading to their collaboration.

The Korean version's team consists of director Lee Gi-bbeum and music director Lee Jin-wook.

After the first performance on Saturday, the small-theater production saw its ranking jump to enter the top 10 on Interpark ticketing platform in the musical category, occupied by big theater productions such as “Kinky Boots,” “Frankenstein,” “Hadestown,” “Hero,” and “Chicago.”

For the founder and CEO of Focustage Liu Hankun, the Korean opening of the musical marks a significant milestone for Chinese production companies that have imported and introduced several Korean musicals including "Black Mary Poppins," "Apollonia" and "Mr. Mouse."

Liu, who studied performing arts at Dongguk University’s graduate school in Seoul in the early 2010s, has seen the Chinese market rapidly grow in the past decade. He founded his company in 2018 and has turned it into a major production company that manages several open-run musicals, a theater, and artists.

As the recognition and popularity of Focustage are growing in China, there is a demand for further expansion. I also feel that by learning and working in Korea, we can gain more insights into the markets of Korea, China, and Japan collectively. With this in mind, we are taking a step forward to try out in the Korean and overseas markets. We wanted to create a Korean version to test its reception and see how it is received,” Liu told The Korea Herald in fluent Korean ahead of the musical's opening.

With "The Butterfly on the Bund 1939" as the catalyst, the creators from both countries hope to pursue more collaborative works, aiming to expand their reach to other Asian markets.

"I believe that musicals are a common language. We can plan together not just in Korea and China, but also in other parts of Asia. I hope this will allow us to connect with each other more closely just like New York and London are closely connected," Oh said.

The musical runs until Sept. 22 at TOM in Daehangno.