K-Musicals Abroad

This section documents Korean musicals that have been performed outside Korea, whether as full licensed productions, international premieres, touring engagements, or collaborative works involving Korean creators. While the earliest wave of exports was centered in the United States and the United Kingdom with productions such as The Last Empress (명성황후), a much larger and more sustained ecosystem has since developed in non-English markets — especially Japan, China, and Taiwan — where Korean original musicals have been repeatedly licensed, restaged, and localized.

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Among the most widely exported titles are Finding Mr. Destiny (김종욱 찾기), which has been produced in Japan, China, and Taiwan since 2008; Fan Letter (팬레터), now a recurring part of Tokyo’s small-theatre scene with annual revivals; and Rachmaninoff (라흐마니노프), which has traveled not only to Japan but also to Poland and the Czech Republic, marking one of the first Korean musicals to receive European language adaptations. Xcalibur (엑스칼리버) joined this group in 2023 with a large-scale licensed staging in Japan, while Marie Curie (마리 퀴리) expanded into English-language production in London and is now preparing further international runs.

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Where possible, this archive provides production details, timelines, cast information, media references, and reflections on local reception. In other cases, it preserves partial records to trace the growing international circulation of Korean musical theatre, from early single-run engagements to long-term licensed repertoires.