Blue Square: A space behind Korea’s musical boom

Blue Square located near Itaewon. (Interpark Group)

In 2011, when a sprawling 29,492-square-meter, eight-story building opened its doors near Itaewon, Seoul’s vibrant nightlife district, not many could have imagined what was in store for Korea’s musical scene.

Fast forward to a decade later, the building, Blue Square, has welcomed more than 10 million visitors coming to see 7,743 performances of 1,031 musicals or enjoy other facilities in the complex, according to Interpark Group, which operates a major ticketing platform. Interpark built and runs the cultural complex, which is home to a main hall that accommodates up to 1,766 people, another 1,373-seater concert hall, as well as two grand theaters. Interpark on Tuesday released the statistics to celebrate the complex’s 10-year anniversary this year.

The CEO of EMK, one of the top musical production firms in the country, told The Korea Herald that the sheer number of visitors and musical performances that have gone on stage is testimony that a space, like Blue Square, can help foster talent and interest in a country that was once an insignificant player when it came to musicals.

“Blue Square is specialized in staging musicals and provides the best settings especially for large scale productions,” EMK CEO Eum Hong-hyeon said Thursday.

“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Blue Square contributed to the realization of domestic performance of internationally renowned musical originals,” said Eun, whose company has imported international musical hits and also created several original musicals such as “Mata Hari” and “The Man Who Laughs.”

In 2012, spectacular musicals such as “Wicked,” a Broadway hit that features a complex and expensive set, came to South Korea for the first time and other musical spectacles such as “Les Miserables,” “Jekyll & Hyde,” and “The Pantom of the Opera” lured Korean audience at Blue Square in the past 10 years.  

“The emergence of singer-turned-musical actors combined with well-equipped stages like ones Blue Square provides have contributed to South Korea’s heyday for musicals, which unfortunately is experiencing a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he noted. 

Interpark’s statistics also highlighted some other notable achievements that took place at Blue Square.

Ok Joo-hyun, a former member of now-disbanded FiNKL, who appeared on several hit works such as “Rebecca” and “Wicked,” was Blue Square’s most prolific performer, having gone on stage 359 times. She was followed by musical actor Jung Sung-hwa, who performed 352 times.

From 2011 to last month, 41 large scale musicals went on stage in the Shinhan Card Hall. Four musicals attracted more than 200,000 people with 2014’s Jekyll & Hyde drawing the largest audience of 242,000, followed by Wicked in 2012 which had 235,000 watchers. 

Two hardcore musical fans — a 57-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man — came back for a whopping 229 times. The two were among 10 people who frequented the musical theater more than 100 times. 

In addition to Blue Square, South Korea has several more concert halls dedicated to musicals, including Charlotte Theater, D-Cube, Chungmu Art Center among others that have been pleasing musical lovers. Next year, LG Art Center will be added to musical lovers’ go-to list once it relocates to Magok, western Seoul, with a fresh and bigger space.

(gypark@heraldcorp.com)

Blue Square: A space behind Korea’s musical boom
Philippines Truth