top of page
2020
帅小伙的蔬果店
Bachelor’s Vegetable Store (총각네 야채가게) is a Korean original musical based on the real-life success story of a young entrepreneur who built a nationwide fresh-produce franchise. After several domestic runs between 2008 and 2015, the musical became one of the earliest Korean titles to be licensed for overseas production, exported to both Japan and China in localized adaptations.
English:
Bachelor's Vegetable Store
Korean:
총각네 야채가게
Country: China | Language: Chinese
🔗 All images are linked to their original sources or articles. No copyright ownership is claimed.
ORIGIN
The musical premiered in 2008 at Broadway Art Hall (Seoul), produced by Live Corp (formerly 강병원 라이브). With book and lyrics based on the autobiographical narrative of Lee Young-seok, the founder of the well-known franchise “총각네 야채가게,” the show dramatizes the journey of a jobless youth who builds a business with a group of spirited friends. The early productions reflected a near-verbatim stage adaptation of the book, later revised in subsequent seasons to fictionalize names and adjust character arcs. Despite changing public sentiment toward the real-life figure in later years, the work is still cited as an early case of a Korean original musical finding commercial momentum before the 2010s boom.
STORY
The plot follows Tae-seong, a young man who quits a corporate job and learns street-market trade from a traveling squid vendor before launching a small produce shop with four other “bachelors.” Through creative grassroots marketing and teamwork, the group grows the store into a franchise, navigating friendship, romance, debt, and temptation from large corporate buyouts. The tone is light, comedic, and motivational, centering on themes of youth entrepreneurship, found family, and perseverance rather than social critique. Later revisions removed certain autobiographical elements and restructured supporting characters, including the removal of the original female lead “Su-jin” after 2012.
POSTER COLLECTION
Poster images are shown for documentation only. All rights belong to the original creators and producers.
KOREAN RUNS
The show ran repeatedly from 2008 to 2015 in Daehak-ro and mid-sized venues, with yearly recastings and partial script updates. Productions were staged under Live Corp at venues including Broadway Art Hall, SM Art Hall, Daehangno Musical Center, KT&G Sangsang Art Hall, and KEPCO Art Center. Its seven-year domestic lifespan placed it among the longer-running small-to-midscale original musicals of the 2000s.
GLOBAL STAGINGS & ADAPTATIONS
Japan – Tokyo (2013)
Licensed Japanese-language production
Honda Theatre, produced by Amuse Inc., staged under the title チョンガンネ ～おいしい人生お届けします～
The adaptation featured a partially revised book to suit Japanese casting and audience sensibilities and is regarded as one of the earliest Live Corp titles to be exported. Although the run performed well at the box office, Live Corp later noted that the staging and acting quality did not fully reflect the intent of the original Korean production, leading to discussions of a Korean-cast tour that was ultimately not realized.
China – Shanghai (2020)
Licensed Mandarin-language production
Shanghai Darwin Theatre, Jul 10–12, 2020, staged under the title 帅小伙的蔬果店
Directed by Liu Xiaoyi with Chinese lyrics by Qin Zixuan, the production marked the first confirmed full staging of the title with a local cast, following earlier China licensing plans announced in 2014. The work was selected for its upbeat tone and focus on youth entrepreneurship, themes considered relatable to contemporary Chinese audiences amid growing interest in self-start and employment narratives.
REFERENCES
LIVE Corp – 2013 Japan License Notice
http://www.livecorp.co.kr/m31_view.php?idx=41&cate=4
LIVE Corp – 2020 China License Notice
http://www.livecorp.co.kr/m31_view.php?idx=59&cate=4
Maeil Business – China export trends (2014)
https://www.mk.co.kr/news/culture/6102901
Khan News – Export confirmation report (2014)
bottom of page