From stage to the world

Carrying a pack of Dunhills and pink lip gloss, actress, producer and publisher Yoon Suk-hwa steps into her Seoul office. “Do you mind if I smoke?” she asks, her voice and gesture almost theatrical.

The iconic stage actress, who just launched the first European edition of her monthly performing arts magazine, Gaeksuk, has been living in London for the last few years. She is the first Korean to break into the West End, co-producing “Top Hat,” “Wonderful Town” and “Journey’s End.” She does not hide her pride. “Of course I deserve this,” she says, talking about her upcoming acting debut in England. “I’m the best Korean actress there is.”

The 57-year-old arrived in Seoul last week to celebrate the 29th anniversary of Gaeksuk, the oldest performing arts magazine in the country.

She took over the failing monthly in 1997, when it was about to close down following the Asian financial crisis that gripped the country that year. It’s been a remarkable 15-year journey, surviving constant financial difficulties and deficits. Having launched its first European edition recently, Yoon says the last 15 years were more like a miracle. 

“I was so adored by the audience and I wanted to take over the magazine so I could do something in return,” she says. “I did not think Gaeksuk deserved to be discontinued. The performing arts are like trees’ roots. Their values cannot be seen but it does not mean they are not important. Running the magazine has been so hard. I thought about quitting countless times. But I tried to think of the hardships as my bliss.”

Gaeksuk’s European bureau is located in Berlin, with Desmond Chewyn ― who has been working as the monthly’s London correspondent for more than a decade ― as its editor-in-chief. The magazine is distributed to England, Germany, Dubai, the U.S., Denmark and Belgium. It took almost a year for Chewyn and Yoon to publish the first edition.

“Whenever I talked about Gaeksuk and what it does overseas, I’d always get compliments,” says Yoon. “Many told me they’d never heard anything like Gaeksuk. So I think this magazine actually has a chance in foreign countries.”

Since her stage debut in 1975 in “A Taste of Honey,” she has performed as lead actress in more than 45 plays and musicals. Her acting works include “Agnes of God” (1983, 1999, 2008), “Guys and Dolls” (1987, 1994), “Saturday Night Fever” (2003, 2004) and “The Merchant of Venice” (2009). She also directed and produced a number of musicals and plays in Korea, including “Wit” (2005) and “I’m You!” (2010).

Throughout her career, she’s been devoted to the stage; Yoon only starred in films twice. Her latest film was last year’s low-budget tearjerker “Spring, Snow,” where she played a caring, dying mother with cancer.

“I love being a stage actress because every moment of a live performance is unrepeatable and precious,” she says. “But sometimes you want to make a record of your work. That was one of the reasons why I decided to star in ‘Spring, Snow’ last year.”

Yoon said she is scheduled to perform British playwright Arnold Wesker’s “Letter To A Daughter” in England sometime this year. The actress in fact performed in the play’s world premiere in Seoul in 1992, which was delivered in the Korean language. Upon the opening of the London show, Yoon will become the first Korean actress to perform in the West End.

“I have not yet decided to perform in English or in Korean for the show,” Yoon says.

“I initially wanted to perfect my British accent and act entirely in English. I am still working on it, and it’ll happen if I’m satisfied with my English. If not, performing in Korean is the plan B.”

Yoon says working overseas has made her a “patriot.” In the preparatory phase of the European edition of Gaeksuk, she made it mandatory for every issue to include up to two stories on Korean artists or performances.

“We have so many young talented musicians in Korea,” she says. “And I hope to do something so they can have more international exposure.”

In 1984, long before Yoon became the publisher of the magazine, the actress in fact worked as its New York correspondent while studying there. It was the best job for her: She got to see all kinds of concerts, plays and dance as much as she wanted. She still fondly remembers interviewing Russian-born American actor Yul Brynner, just a year before he died in 1985.

“Not everyone in the world can attend every concert and play, and speak to the artists,” she says. “But my goal is to provide an opportunity for many to somehow experience the performances at least by reading. That’s what I have always wanted to and will do with Gaeksuk.”

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)