👑 The Last Empress (명성황후 / 明成皇后)

The Last Empress is a Korean original musical based on the life and death of Empress Myeongseong (명성황후 / 明成皇后), the first official queen consort of Korea’s modern era. Set during the final years of the Joseon dynasty, the story follows her political struggles, resistance to foreign domination, and eventual assassination by Japanese agents in 1895. First premiered in 1995, the production is widely recognized as Korea’s first large-scale historical musical — and in 1997, it became the first Korean musical to be performed at New York’s Lincoln Center, establishing a precedent for international touring.

🕮 Synopsis

Set in the late 19th century, The Last Empress dramatizes the life and assassination of Empress Myeongseong (Queen Min), the last queen of the Joseon Dynasty. As Joseon struggles to remain independent amid rising foreign pressures — especially Japanese imperialism — internal power struggles within the royal court further destabilize the nation. Frail but politically astute, the Queen eventually gains control, only to be targeted for her resistance to foreign domination. The musical blends historical spectacle with national tragedy, portraying her as both a symbol of sovereignty and a contested historical figure.

While praised for its lavish staging and orchestration — a first for Korean musicals at the time — public reception was mixed, with some questioning the portrayal of Queen Min primarily as a victim. The creators deliberately chose a solemn tone with only minimal comic relief, using stylized staging to foreground grief and symbolism over historical reenactment. However, the assassination scene was notably long and brutal, showing the queen’s slayal in front of her young son. While theatrically dramatized, the scene’s intensity could be jarring for audiences unfamiliar with the historical context.

📜 Behind the Scenes of The Last Empress

The Last Empress began as an ambitious project by Yun Ho-jin, a former engineering student who pursued an M.S. in drama at NYU. Determined to create a world-class Korean musical, Yun envisioned a production that could travel internationally and reflect Korea’s history on the global stage.

In the early stages, Yun even reached out to Claude-Michel Schönberg, composer of Les Misérables and Miss Saigon. Schönberg expressed interest, but budget limitations led the team to continue with a Korean composer for the score.

US production in 1997 was by contacting every venue directly until Yun got an answer from Lincoln Center. It was a financial burden and the production team got loans against their house even to make it happen. Since it was the first Korean production of the musical in the USA, and held at the prestigious David H. Koch Theater (home of New York City Ballet), The Last Empress was covered by major newspapers as both feature articles and reviews. Songs were performed in Korean with supertitles, or occasionally in English.

For the musical’s London engagement, English lyricist Georgina St. George contributed new lyrics and material. While the production maintained its signature spectacle, some nuances shifted in tone and narrative emphasis for Western audiences. Dialogue and lyrics in the London version often leaned into direct emotional language, subtly reshaping the story's historical and cultural resonance. Reviews were mostly harsh, especially criticizing the incomprehensible lyrics and pseudo-westernized storytelling and scores. The entire musical was translated into English, with supertitles still used.

There are many research articles in Korea as well as other parts of the world, mainly in the USA, analyzing and emphasizing the impact of The Last Empress as the first Korean musical that was a commercial success in Korea and left footprints abroad.

🌍U.S. Coverage and Reviews (1997–1998, Chronological)

⭐CurtainUp (1997) – Review by David Lipfert

When The Last Empress debuted at Lincoln Center’s New York State Theater in August 1997, CurtainUp critic David Lipfert called it a visual triumph. He praised its dynamic stagecraft—particularly the tilting turntables—and its rich orchestration, while noting standout vocals from Taewon Yi as Queen Min. Yet Lipfert also observed that the musical leaned too heavily on historical exposition, lacking the emotional introspection needed for deeper resonance. Still, he acknowledged the cultural significance of the moment, recognizing it as the first Korean original musical to step onto the world stage.

⭐Playbill (1997) – The Last Empress Runs Aug. 15–24 in NY

David Lefkowitz previews the Lincoln Center premiere. Emphasizes the show’s ambition as Korea’s first large-scale export musical.

⭐New York Times (1997) – The Ascent From Wife to Empress

In her August 21 review, Anita Gates of The New York Times celebrated the musical’s grandeur and cinematic sweep, likening Queen Min to figures like Eva Perón and Elizabeth I. She praised the staging, lighting, and costume design, while describing the climactic anthem “Rise, People of Chosun” as emotionally galvanizing—on par with “The Internationale.” Though the English supertitles proved a challenge, Gates found that the production successfully conveyed the dignity and tragedy of its central figure, leaving a powerful impression of Korean resilience and identity.

⭐Variety (1997) – Review by Robert L. Daniels

Notes strong visual elements, including costumes and ceremonial scenes. Says songs are less memorable.

⭐CurtainUp (1998) – Second Thoughts by Les Gutman

Revisiting the show a year later, Les Gutman offered a more tempered take in CurtainUp’s “Second Thoughts” column (August 5, 1998). While admiring the vocal strength of performers like Taewon Yi and Hee Sung Yu, he critiqued the production’s attempt to merge Western musical aesthetics with Korean narrative as emotionally distancing. Gutman found the translation clunky and the score overly generic, noting the ambition but questioning whether the musical form fully served the story’s emotional depth.

⭐The New York Times Feature (1998) – Don Kirk

Published on March 27, 1998, Don Kirk’s feature for The New York Times was less a review than a cultural profile. With interviews from director Yun Ho Jin, composer Kim Hee Gab, and musical director Kolleen Park, the article contextualized the production within Korea’s cultural exports of the 1990s. While not overtly critical, Kirk’s respectful tone helped establish the show’s artistic legitimacy and framed it as a landmark effort in Korean global outreach.

⭐Playbill (1998) – The Last Empress Returns to New York

As the show returned to Lincoln Center in August 1998, David Lefkowitz’s Playbill preview on July 31 spotlighted its massive scale: a $1 million budget, 80 cast members, 600 costumes. He highlighted the creative team and dual casting of Queen Min, presenting the musical as both a visual spectacle and a political tragedy. By comparing Min to Evita, Lefkowitz framed her story as emblematic of sacrifice and sovereignty, packaged in a form familiar to Broadway audiences.

🇬🇧 U.K. Coverage and Criticism (2002, Chronological)

⭐London Korean Links – Review by Philip Gowman

Calls the show “spectacular but unsatisfying.” Notes visual splendor but criticizes its reworking into a generalized romance.

⭐The Guardian – Michael Billington

In a February 5 review, The Guardian’s Michael Billington confessed difficulty connecting with The Last Empress at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. While he appreciated Tae Won Yi’s crystalline soprano and the show’s historical ambition, he critiqued the English lyrics and overblown style, calling it “internationalised kitsch.” Though acknowledging the production’s cultural value, Billington found its emotional communication and theatrical logic uneven, particularly for viewers unfamiliar with Korean history.

⭐The Independent (2002) – Rhoda Koenig

Rhoda Koenig, writing for The Independent on February 6, was far less forgiving. She dismissed the show as “a shotgun wedding of East and West,” scorning its muddled politics, shallow character arcs, and bombastic Les Mis-style score. Despite admiring Hyun Sook Kim’s lavish costumes, Koenig argued that the musical’s nationalist tone and poor translations undermined its diplomatic ambitions. A Hiroshima clip, in her view, pushed the show into ethically questionable territory.    

⭐The Independent – Kate Bassett

In a follow-up review dated February 11, Kate Bassett echoed similar frustrations. Describing the musical as “cross-culturalism at its most risible,” she criticized the staging as chaotic, the politics as confusing, and the music as tonally inconsistent. While Tae Won Yi’s performance again stood out, Bassett felt the musical lacked character nuance and clarity, concluding that its Western stylization betrayed its cultural aims.

⭐BBC Radio 4 – Woman’s Hour (2002)

Ahead of the London premiere, BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour featured Tae Won Yi and SOAS scholar Dr. Keith Howard in a 2002 segment. Host Jenni Murray spotlighted Queen Min as a transformative figure in Korean history. Yi, known for The King and I, described expanding her royal repertoire, while the show’s historical and cultural stakes were introduced to British audiences with quiet reverence and curiosity.

🎓 Academic & Cultural Analysis (Chronological)

⭐Cambridge Journal – Performing Koreanness on the Global Stage (2010)

A scholarly discussion on how The Last Empress framed Korean identity for international audiences and struggled with translation and global appeal. The article emphasizes how the show relied heavily on Broadway conventions while presenting a uniquely Korean subject matter, generating both praise and criticism abroad. It investigates the tension between national representation and transnational theater aesthetics.

⭐Lee Hyunjung Thesis – University of Texas at Austin (2010)

Writing academically in 2010, Hyunjung Lee analyzed The Last Empress as a product of Korea’s globalization surge in the 1990s. In Theatre Research International, she argued that the show showcased a gendered nationalism, positioning Queen Min as both symbol and spectacle. Lee critiqued the use of “global” aesthetics as hollow signifiers of legitimacy rather than tools of connection, revealing a tension between national pride and global readability.

⭐Sue-Ellen Case – Musical The Last Empress: A Korean Staging of Woman and Nation (2015)

In her essay Musical The Last Empress: A Korean Staging of Woman and Nation, Sue-Ellen Case examines how the musical uses spectacle to frame national identity through the figure of Empress Min. She argues that while the show celebrates Korean history, its format as a global mega-musical risks flattening cultural nuance into operatic martyrdom. Empress Min is presented as both a Confucian mother and an exoticized “dragon lady,” echoing orientalist stereotypes from Hollywood. Case highlights the symbolic tension of staging the show in Los Angeles’s Kodak Theater—just steps from Grauman’s Chinese Theater, long associated with Asian caricatures. She critiques the absence of figures like British traveler Isabella Bird, whose colonial gaze on Korea shaped Western perceptions of Min. By omitting Bird’s presence, the musical loses a chance to stage a clash of imperial narratives. Ultimately, Case suggests that The Last Empress aspires to global recognition while unconsciously mirroring the very structures of cultural domination it seeks to transcend.

⭐Sandra Lee, Ph.D. Dissertation (2014)

Sandra Lee’s dissertation is the most comprehensive single source on the development of The Last Empress. It documents every stage of the production—from its inception and creative decisions to staging challenges, funding hurdles, international revisions, and media reception. Drawing from interviews, archived press coverage, and critical analysis, Lee reveals how Yun Ho-jin’s vision evolved and how the production team navigated Western expectations. It also addresses changes to the score and script during international tours and sheds light on internal debates about national representation and cultural diplomacy.

She carefully details how the show began in Korea, describes the challenges faced during U.S. and U.K. adaptations, and explains why the London run—with new lyrics by Georgina St. George—received more critical backlash than the U.S. versions. The thesis discusses both Western reception and Korean domestic perspectives, examining the show's evolution as a cultural product and international export.