Actor Moon Seong-geun to Appear on Theater Stage after 10 Years

Film actor Moon Seong-geun will once again appear on the theater stage after a ten year absence. Moon has appeared mainly in films or on TV since his last appearance in a play entitled "Playland" staged by "Chaimu" Theater Company in 1995.

He will greet fans as a stage actor with "Until the Water (East Sea) Dries Up and the Mountain (Mt. Baekdu) Becomes Dust", a play to be staged to celebrate the 10th founding anniversary of "Chaimu", on Dec. 1-17.

In the drama, he will play "Don Carlos", the godfather of the Spanish mafia, who sends his men to Korea to extort a royalty for the national anthem of Korea, composed by the late maestro Eaktai Ahn, from the Korean government.

Since his debut on the stage with a play entitled "Mr. Han's Chronicle" in 1985, Moon has appeared in various works, including "Chilsu and Mansu" (1986)--a theater work that created a boom of plays at small theaters.

"Until the Water Dries Up and the Mountain Becomes Dust" will be directed by Lee Sang-woo, the director of "Chilsu and Mansu". The public is paying keen attention to this play, given that Moon will once again appear alongside Kang Shin-il and Kim Seung-wook 20 years after they worked together in "Chilsu and Mansu".

The forthcoming play portrays Spanish mafiosi who come to Korea to extort a royalty for the national anthem of Korea after its composer died in Spain in 1965.

This is a comic play that deals mainly with the modern history of Korea and the world, including the Saemaul (new community) movement, the military coup in 1979, the collapse of Seongsu Bridge and Sampoong Department Store, and the IMF bail-out system in Korea, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001.

Since its premiere in 2000, "Until the Water Dries Up and the Mountain Becomes Dust" has won "Best Director Award of the Year" from the National Theater Association of Korea, and "Best Play Award" and "Best Script Award" at the 37th Baeksang Art Awards ceremony.

The play will also be acted by those actors and actresses who have long worked with "Chaimu" such as Park Kwang-jeong, Choi Yong-min, Min Bok-ki, Lee Seong-min, Choi Deok-moon, Park Ji-ah, Cheon Hye-jin and Oh Yong, as well as new young actors and actresses such as Min Seong-wook, Kim Ji-hyun and Seo Dong-kap.