Korean pop stars attract Hallyu fans to musical "Lunatic"

Published on 2010/07/29 | Source

From left, V.O.S. singer Kim Kyung-rok and Jung Hee-chul of idol group ZE:A performing in the musical "2010 Lunatic Dream Team". [Asia Economic Daily]

Korean singers Kim Kyung-rok of pop trio V.O.S. and Jung Hee-chul of idol group ZE:A, who are currently starring in the Korean musical "2010 Lunatic Dream Team", are attracting scores of Hallyu fans to their shows.

The two singers, who have been appearing in "Lunatic" since July 16, are said to be bringing in Japanese fans to Korea to see their shows.

"The show's venue is being crowded day after day with wreaths, flower baskets and presents from Japanese fans who want to congratulate the two singers' musical debut", explained an official related to the musical, adding that local taxi drivers are doubling as tour guides for the Japanese audiences.

Singer Kim Kyung-rok expressed his gratitude for fans who flew in from overseas, saying he did not expect that so many people would come to see him perform.

"In 'Lunatic', there is a humor code throughout the two-hour running time... Although the Japanese fans understand Korean a little bit, it is still hard for them to understand comedy [in Korean]", explained Kim. "It makes me work really hard just to pay them back for their passion and coming from afar to see my show despite that [language barrier]".

"Lunatic", an original musical created in Korea, is a story about the joys and sorrows of people suffering from mental illnesses. The show had attracted over 800,000 admits over the past seven years.

The show features numerous veteran musical actors who had appeared in previous productions of "Lunatic" including Kim Sun-kyung, So Chan-whee and Lim Choon-gil.

"Lunatic" will run at Seoul's Mapo Art Center until September 5.