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Bachelor's Vegetable Store
총각네 야채가게
Literal Translation
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SOURCE
nonfiction
SETTING
Korea
BOOK
adaptation
Based on Lee Young-seok's autobiographical story
Korean Premiere
2008
Korean Premiere Theatre
Broadway Art Hall, Seoul
Further Korean run reference:
https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%B4%9D%EA%B0%81%EB%84%A4%20%EC%95%BC%EC%B1%84%EA%B0%80%EA%B2%8C(%EB%AE%A4%EC%A7%80%EC%BB%AC)
The Musical search cue — “총각네 야채가게 뮤지컬”
Summary
A young man transforms a small produce stall into a thriving business, as friendship, ambition, and repeated setbacks test his unconventional approach to work and success.
Origin & Development
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. 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.
Partial Synopsis
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.
チョンガンネ ～おいしい人生お届けします～
2013
2013-04-25
to
2013-05-12
Country:
Japan
City:
Tokyo
Production Type:
Licensed
Language:
Japanese
Venue:
Honda Theater
Produced by Amuse Inc. with a book partially revised for Japanese casting and audience sensibilities, it was one of the earliest Live Corp titles to be exported. The run did well at the box office, but Live Corp later noted that the staging and acting did not fully reflect the intent of the Korean original, prompting talk of a Korean-cast tour that was never realized.
帅小伙的蔬果店 (Mr Sunshine's Grocery)
2020
2020-07-10
to
2020-07-12
Country:
China
City:
Shanghai
Production Type:
Licensed
Language:
Chinese
Venue:
Shanghai Darwin Theatre
Directed by Liu Xiaoyi with Chinese lyrics by Qin Zixuan, this was the first confirmed full staging of the title with a local cast, following China licensing plans first announced in 2014. The work was chosen for its upbeat tone and focus on youth entrepreneurship, themes seen as relatable to contemporary Chinese audiences.
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