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2012
パルレ
Laundry (빨래) is a landmark Korean original musical about ordinary people surviving life in Seoul with humor, fatigue, and quiet hope. Since premiering in 2005, it has become one of Korea’s longest-running small-theatre musicals and has been exported through both licensed and Korean-cast productions.
English:
Laundry
Korean:
빨래
Country: Japan | Language: Japanese
Review
🔗 All images are linked to their original sources or articles. No copyright ownership is claimed.
ORIGIN
Laundry began as a graduation project at the Korea National University of Arts, written and directed by Choo Min-joo with music by Min Chan-hong, and produced by theatre company Myunglang Theatre Subak. It is widely noted as a rare case in which a fully original Korean musical—without adaptation from Western source material—achieved long-term commercial and critical success, helping to stabilize Daehak-ro’s small-theatre ecosystem and establishing a model for later Korean original musicals.
STORY
Set in a basement rental room on the outskirts of Seoul and the rooftop where laundry is hung out to dry, the musical follows ordinary people who endure each day while hand-washing their clothes and their worries. In Laundry, washing is not labor for profit but a quiet ritual of wiping away life’s dust and gathering the courage to go on.
POSTER COLLECTION
Poster images are shown for documentation only. All rights belong to the original creators and producers.
KOREAN RUNS
2005 – World premiere, National Theater Company of Korea
2005–ongoing – Long-run Daehak-ro production exceeding 3,000 performances and 500,000 cumulative audience members
Awards include Korea Musical Awards (Best Lyrics, Best Script, 2005) and The Musical Awards (Best Lyrics, Best Composition, Best Script, 2010)
Major cast alumni include Im Chang-jung, Hong Kwang-ho, Kwak Sun-young, Kim Jae-bum, and many others
GLOBAL STAGINGS & ADAPTATIONS
Japan – Tokyo & Osaka (2012)
Licensed Japanese-language production (パルレ)
Zepp Blue Theater Roppongi / Sankei Hall Breeze
The production featured an all-Japanese cast, with Kimura Hanayo as Na-young. Press coverage described the piece as portraying “bright but struggling urban lives in the back alleys of Seoul” and introduced it as the first licensed export of the title. Marketing positioned it as a “human-scale musical audiences could do laundry with,” echoing the tone of the original Korean staging.
China – Multiple Cities (2016)
Korean-language touring production with original Korean cast
Opened at Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center in January; relaunched as national tour beginning Aug 19 at Beijing Tianqiao Art Center
The tour included Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and additional stops, totaling more than 30 performances. Chinese press highlighted the show’s realism, multicultural cast, and reputation as “the hope of original Korean musicals.” Performances were surtitled in Chinese while retaining full Korean staging, music, and direction.
REFERENCES
Pia Kansai – interview with Kimura Hanayo about 2012 Japanese adaptation
https://kansai.pia.co.jp/interview/stage/2012-02/120215-s005.html
China News Service – announcement of 2016 China tour and performance schedule
https://www.chinanews.com.cn/m/cul/2016/08-01/7958415.shtml
Tour in Japan celebrating 10th anniversary
https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20150122113300005
Korean Musical - Laundry In Beijing
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