1. Overview

Woyzeck (보이첵) is a Korean musical adaptation of Georg Büchner’s unfinished 19th-century play, directed by Yun Ho Jin, best known for The Last Empress and Hero. Co-produced by Acom International and LG Arts Center, the project was conceived as a cross-cultural experiment — developing a new English-language musical in collaboration with British artists.

The musical reinterprets Büchner’s story of love, poverty, and madness through a contemporary lens, highlighting human vulnerability under social oppression. Its Korean premiere in 2014 combined Yun’s theatrical realism with music and lyrics by British folk musicians Chris Broderick and Rob Shepherd, known for their raw, acoustic storytelling style.

2. Development and London Workshops (2007–2012)

In 2007, the project entered development with Greenwich Theatre in London, which held an open call for international collaborators. Out of more than fifty submissions, The Singing Loins (Broderick & Shepherd) were selected to compose the book, lyrics, and score. Their unpolished, working-class sound captured the visceral tone of Büchner’s text.

The musical went through two workshops: the first in 2008 and the second in 2012 at Charing Cross Theatre, retitled The Ruby Necklace. Directed by Matt Ryan (Les Misérables, Miss Saigon) and music-directed by Nigel Lilley, the 2012 version drew attention from West End producers for its sincerity and emotional restraint.

3. Korean Premiere (2014)

Following its London incubation, Woyzeck premiered at LG Arts Center in Seoul from October 9 to November 8, 2014. The Korean version re-translated the English script back into Korean while retaining the folk-inspired musical language of Broderick and Shepherd.

The cast featured Kim Da hyun and Kim Su Yong alternating as Woyzeck, Sophie Kim as Marie, and Kim Publae as the Drum Major. Music director Jang So Young adapted the score with an acoustic sensibility to preserve its raw emotion and human vulnerability.

Yun’s production avoided spectacle, emphasizing the psychological collapse of ordinary people. The minimalist staging and restrained lighting created an atmosphere closer to Sweeney Todd than to grand historical epics, underlining the universality of Büchner’s themes.

4. Artistic Context

Set designer Park Dong Woo used stacked shipping containers to symbolize both military hierarchy and modern capitalism — a stark, mobile architecture suggesting confinement and repetition. The hybrid score fused indie-folk tone and Broadway structure, embodying Woyzeck’s struggle as an “everyman” crushed by systemic forces.

Although modest in scale, the production reflected Korea’s growing ambition to create original works capable of resonating abroad — a musical that bridges European modernism and Korean theatrical sensibility.

5. Continuing Vision

In a 2025 interview with Seoul Economic Daily, director Yun Ho-jin confirmed plans to rework Woyzeck for an anticipated West End staging in September 2026, signaling a full-circle return to London, where the project first took shape nearly two decades earlier.