(Full Synopsis)

Set in contemporary Korea and linked to memories of displacement across generations, the musical unfolds as a Korean Soviet third-generation journalist returns to his ancestral homeland during the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Following his late grandfather’s wish, Lee Han comes to Korea in search of family roots and encounters Yeon at an Arirang festival by the Han River. Through a long-sought reunion with his uncle Son, he learns of his parents’ tragic history—his mother buried at Arirang Pass in Jeongseon and his father remembered as an independence fighter.

As the festival reaches its climax and his uncle is honored in the singing contest, Lee Han deepens both his emotional connection to Korea and his bond with Yeon. When his stay ends, he departs carrying hope of reunion, leaving behind love, memory, and a collective choral vision of homeland.

Through Arirang as both folk song and cultural symbol, the musical connects exile, separation, love, and national continuity.