PMC Production, one of the country's major musical producers, sold the licenses of two homegrown musicals to production companies in Japan, it said in a statement released Monday.
PMC, led by actor-turned-producer Song Seung-hwan, concluded a $147,000 contract with Japan's Shochiku, which allows the Japanese production company to use the contents and music of the musical "Great Janggeum". It also signed a one-year contract with Amuse, one of the major entertainment companies in Japan, for use of characters and contents of the Korean musical "Dalgona".
This is the first case of Korean musicals being exported overseas and adapted for local versions.
"Great Janggeum" is a musical adaptation of the major hit MBC drama "Dae Jang Geum", which has been recently staged in local theaters. It follows the same storyline as the TV drama that portrays a woman who serves at a palace cooking for the royal family during the Joseon Dynasty.
However, Shochiku, PMC's Japan partner, is to transform the musical into a stage drama version by using original script, costumes and music numbers of the musical.
The stage drama version of "Great Janggeum" will be staged at Tokyo Nissay Theater in December and at Nagoya Misonoza Theatre in February next year.
PMC said it will also discuss bringing the original Korean musical to Japan.
"Dalgona", a nostalgia-provoking musical drama set mostly in the 1980s is scheduled to be staged in Tokyo in September.
"Our Japanese partners said they have found a lot of similarities between the two countries while watching the Korean musical 'Dalgona'. They are expecting to attract local audience by adopting the idea of using hit songs from the past and recalling forgotten memories", said Min Ji-hye, publicist for PMC production.
The title of the Korean musical will be changed into "Ramune", meaning lemonade in Japan.
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