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KOREA JOONGANG DAILY

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014

STYLE

Although Daehangno is regarded as a mecca for small theaters, locals dont often go there unless they can find cheap deals on social commerce websites.

By Park Sang-moon

Producers aim to keep Daehangno in picture

BY CARLA SUNWOO

A portal to another world lies just one

stop away from the Dongdaemun
shopping district on line No. 4.
The stop is Hyehwa Station and the
district is Daehangno, or University
Street, named after Seoul National University, which was based there until it
moved to Gwanak District in 1975.
Although the academic institution
is long gone, the neighborhood has
since reinvented itself as a hub for
small theater productions. Currently
home to some 160 theaters on the alleys along the 1.6 kilometer-long (1
mile-long) road, Daehangno could
easily give Broadway and the West
End a run for their money.
Each decade and a slump in the
economy has brought new challenges
for the district, but recent threats have
come in the form of social commerce
websites and the rise of bigger productions. But despite the changes, industry insiders are finding ways to stay in
the competition.
Theres nothing quite like it,
said Yoon Min-sik, producer of the
open-run musical Love on the Bench,
which is about an older married couple who reminisce about their youth
while sitting on a bench.
It is indeed rare to find a district
like Daehangno that boasts smaller
theaters with about 70 to 250 seats,
which gives the audience a more intimate experience than they can get at a
bigger theater.
Yoon, who has been in the industry 12 years, said its the sense of realism and being able to see every little
detail onstage at an affordable price
that lures people into small theaters.
Many people say that Daehangno
is under threat, but the fact is theyve
been saying that ever since I started
working here, Yoon said in response
to media reports that the industry isnt
faring too well.
But after a decade there, and with
more small theaters than ever before in
the district, Yoon said he foresees
tough times ahead because the audience numbers arent increasing with
the number of theaters.
The supply outweighs the demand threefold, said Yoon, who be-

Most of the productions on social commerce websites are those of a raunchy

[Screen capture]
nature.

lieves that some theaters will probably

have to close their doors at some point
if they fail to draw in more people.
Producers take plunge
But even with the odds against
them, there are those still jumping in.
Someone whos experienced firsthand the harsh reality of producing a
musical in the saturated market is Park
Kyoung-won, producer of Election!
For My Vietnamese Wife. As a
longtime musical enthusiast with
some experience running fashion
shows, Park plunged into the arena
with an original musical in 2012.
Parks show tackles issues concerning multicultural families, the super-aged society in which people 65
and over account for 20 percent of the
population and the disadvantaged
in a humorous way.
I thought if the work was excellent, thatd be enough, she said.
From a lease fraud to missing the
crucial marketing season to the lack of
an audience, Park said everything that

could go wrong did.

One time, we had nine actors onstage and eight audience members,
said Park, adding that even with a social media specialist, it was hard to get
the word out and for the public to notice.
I heard that it was tough, but I
had no idea, said Park, who had heard
that the first three years for an original
musical was hell.
And with the second season in
Daehangno looming around the corner, she said although she is scared,
this time she is mentally prepared for
whats to come.
While the four-month stint in Daehangno saw Park dig into her own
pockets to pay her staff, some good
came out of it, too. The musical was
credited as an Outstanding Performance by the Korean Cultural and Arts
Centers Association, which meant the
show could go on tour around the nation with the government footing half
the bill. But despite their triumphs,
Yoon and Park are the exceptions rather than the rule; they pick quality productions over the ones with mass appeal.
Both musicals are popular with
older audiences, have casts with a diverse age range and are reliant on word
of mouth rather than social commerce
websites to drive sales.
Last month, the Seoul Theater Center released a report that surveyed the
habits of Daehangno visitors since
2012. The report found that the district
has come to focus less on artistic endeavors and more on popular works
that are easy to understand and appeal
to the young with hints of sex and romance. While this may suit the target
audience those who are in their 20s
individuals within the industry are
suffering from this focus.
Lee Seong-wook, who has been
acting for 10 years and is starring in
Where Is My Family? said that as
much as he loved his job, the lack of
quality productions was frustrating as
a performer.
These days, the popular works
are the lighthearted ones, said Lee,
adding that he missed the times when
hed catch a show, and although it
wasnt really funny or entertaining,

hed feel something warm and fuzzy.

Productions like that are hard to come
by these days.
Even with a drama, we have to
somehow incorporate humor into it,
said Lee.
Romantic comedies are what
women in their 20s want, explained
Yoon, who said this accounted for the
countless productions offering tickets
online. But many wonder whether the
findings are a true reflection of what
people want or a natural consequence
of producers pursuit of money.
I was surprised to see the reports,
said Park. A lot of older folks enjoy
coming to a show, too, said Park, adding that her audience consisted of all
ages, which made her wonder if there
was a lack of productions targeted toward adults that make people shy
away from the district.
Yoon has felt the same way for
some time, and thats why he has chosen to get behind the musical about an
older couple.
At the moment, Daehangno revolves around 20-year-olds and there
is a lack of diversity, said Yoon. I
guess thats where I saw my niche.
Although he knew that younger
audiences may not find the plot riveting, Yoon said he knew that if everyone in the older age bracket came to see
the show, it would be worth a shot.
The tickets also cost 40,000 won ($37),
not cheap by Daehangno standards.
Rather than offering competitive prices through websites, Yoon said he
waited for word to spread. While his
patrons are not exactly tech-savvy, he
found that if one of them told his hiking group about the show, it had a
snowball effect.
Will websites drive boom?
According to the STC, about 80.5
percent of the tickets to hit shows were
sold online, and most people paid
15,710 won per ticket.
Lee said if one company increases
the price, then the others have no
choice but to follow suit.
Its not the best solution, Lee
said, but for now there seems to be no
other way.
And although Park initially saw
advertising and sales on a social com-

merce website as a possible solution,

she was told that the waiting list to
secure a spot on the site was a lengthy
process and reserved for popular
shows, not original pieces without a
following.
With the social commerce website
sales, there is virtually no profit, said
Choi Yoon-woo of the Korea Small
Theater Association. But there are exceptions reserved for heavyweights.
The way that the theater world
works, the start-up cost is the most expensive, so if a production has been
running for more than six months, then
there is some chance, said Choi. So,
essentially, the bigger productions on
an open run only benefit from it.
But as a typical Daehangno production runs for just three or four weeks,
theres no way to win for smaller companies that are just starting out.
Choi said social commerce websites are no help for theaters with fewer than 150 seats.
If you think about it, to make a
profit, you have to lower your expenses, said Lee, adding that it wasnt uncommon for companies to recruit
younger, less experienced actors for
lead roles in order to make some money from cheap ticket prices. Many new
actors are happy to accept less than
50,000 won per show, while those
playing minor characters may be paid
even less.
There is an unsaid agreement between the theater and the patrons who
bought the tickets for cheap, said one
source who requested anonymity.
The show will go cheap on the
lights and the stage, and cram as many
people in there as possible. And the
patrons although packed in there
like sardines are happy to comply,
he said.
This may explain why the STC reported a 60 percent capacity rate on
average for a Daehangno show, but it
is a number that can be deceiving.
Lee said that while cheap tickets
may be necessary for survival, he wondered if there wasnt another way. Instead of devoting efforts to get people
in the door, I wish theyd focus more
on the quality and making the show
enjoyable, he said, but he admitted,
Im no producer, so the way I view

the theater world may be different.

A cramped market
But even with the social commerce
debate aside, there are other roadblocks remaining in the cramped market. The rent is forever skyrocketing
taking up about 50 percent of expenses, and then there is the matter of
bigger competitors.
Last year alone, we had a lot of
licensed musicals from abroad playing
at bigger venues, said Yoon. And of
course when they come, the press and
the people all pay attention to them
first.
Yoon said one of the reasons Daehangno is suffering is because one
show in a large theater with a capacity
of 2,000 is equal to about 10 shows in
Daehangno.
But tangible problems aside, sometimes the public is the problem.
People dont want to come to Daehangno because they think its far,
theres no parking and the list goes
on, said Park.
They also think that a small theater production might be lame, boring
and probably not as good as foreign
productions, said Park, admitting
that she used to think that way herself
before she set foot in the industry. But
once they come, they always say how
surprised and blown away they are by
the productions.
And once theyre hooked, its not
unusual for these patrons to come and
watch the show again and again,
which is what Park calls a revolving
door.
The intimacy, the way that the actors and audience can communicate,
thats whats so attractive about small
theaters, said Lee, adding that despite
the instability, he couldnt walk away
for those reasons.
The fan culture is great, too. I have
fans that I keep in contact with, and its
such a rewarding feeling, said Lee.
Of course, its good to watch a big
production, but how often can you relate to some of these grandiose characters in foreign productions? Park said.
Most works in Daehangno are written
by local writers, so it makes sense that
people can relate to them better.
carlasunwoo@joongang.co.kr
Left: A scene from Love on the
Bench, in which an older married
couple reminisces about their
youth.
Right: Election! For My Vietnamese Wife, which is set in a small
town, is a hit all across the country.
Provided by the producers

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