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The Korea Times

By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea’s theatre scene is set for another eventful year in 2026, from blockbuster imports to ambitious original works aiming for international success. Here are some of the titles expected to shape the season in Seoul.
The year opened with CJ ENM bringing the stage adaptation of Spirited Away to Seoul. Based on Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film, the play – which premiered on January 7 at the Seoul Arts Centre – follows a young girl named Chihiro as she stumbles into a fantastical world of spirits and must find her way back.
The show debuted in Tokyo in 2022, later travelling to London’s West End and Shanghai, and arrives in Seoul as a touring production featuring Japanese performers.
The title role is shared by Japan Academy Film Prize winner Mone Kamishiraishi and Rina Kawaei, formerly of the girl group AKB48. The Seoul production runs through March 22.
Another international arrival is Lempicka, a Broadway musical based on the life of the late Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka, at Seoul’s NOL Theatre COEX Woori Bank Hall from March 21 to June 21.
In a market long dominated by male-driven narratives, Lempicka distinguishes itself by putting a woman artist’s desire and survival at the centre.
The classic Billy Elliot, produced by Seensee Company, returns after five years. The story of a boy from a mining town with a passion for ballet will be performed from April 12 to July 26 at Blue Square, in Yongsan district, with four young actors cast as Billy. One of Korea’s original Billys, Lim Sunu, now a principal at the Universal Ballet Company, will be taking on the role of adult Billy.
In July, Broadway musical Hell’s Kitchen, inspired by the early life and music of American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, lands at the GS Arts Centre. Set in Manhattan, the show draws on some 20 chart-topping hits – including “If I Ain’t Got You” (2003) – with street-dance-driven choreography.
The biggest bet of the year comes in August with Frozen, at the Charlotte Theatre, in Songpa district, bringing Elsa, Anna and a snowy fantasy world to life on stage. The show is expected to become a major family draw this summer.

The Choir of Man, which comes to NOL Theater Daehangno in September, is an uplifting show set in a British pub called The Jungle. It weaves pop music with the stories of nine men’s lives and has already become a hit in Edinburgh, Sydney, Chicago and London.
Six, a modern pop-concert-style musical reimagining of Henry VIII’s six wives, is set for December, alongside a Korean-language production of The Phantom of the Opera, opening at Blue Square.
Korean original productions are worth checking out, too. January marks the return of the Arko Selection, an annual showcase of new works backed by the Arts Council Korea.
New titles set to debut include James Byron Dean, Green, The Glory and Tragedy of High School Librarian A and Rent, reflecting a widening range of themes and formats.
Among the most anticipated is Arang, adapted from Choi In-ho’s novel Mongyudowondo. Drawing on the legend of Domi from Samguk sagi, a 12th-century chronicle of Korea’s Three Kingdoms, the production runs at the National Theatre of Korea’s Main Hall Hae from January 27 to February 22.
Through the tragic love triangle between Domi, Arang and King Yeogyeong of Baekje, the musical explores themes of longing and impermanence. With a cast that includes both contemporary musical actors and traditional performers, the show will integrate traditional Korean music forms such as pansori (musical storytelling) and jeongga (classical vocal music) into the score.
Swing Days: Code Name A returns in April to the Chungmu Art Centre. Inspired by the life of Korean independence fighter and Yuhan Corp founder New Il-han and the Napko intelligence project during World War II, the musical – written by Kim Hee-jai and composed by Jason Howland – blends swing jazz and espionage with themes of sacrifice and resistance under Japanese colonial rule.
Pushing boundaries even further is Dive, opening in August at the newly opened Link the Space in Daehangno. Based on Danyo’s science fiction novel of the same name, the show envisions a submerged, post-climate-crisis Seoul. With its focus on memory and recovery, the show is emblematic of how Korean original musicals are increasingly branching out beyond historical or melodramatic narratives.
The sleeper hit Let Me Fly returns to Doosan Art Centre’s Yonkang Hall in October. A time-travel tale about a young man in 1969 who dreams of becoming a fashion designer, his stargazing girlfriend and an elderly woman he meets in 2020, the musical has attracted interest both at home and abroad.

It recently travelled to Taiwan and Hong Kong and presented a showcase in New York as part of the 2025 K-Musical Roadshow, underscoring the potential for Korean stories to connect with audiences beyond the home stage.
Read the story at The Korea Times


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World of performing arts

Seoul’s 2026 theatre shows to include Frozen, Spirited Away, Billy Elliot

Mone Kamishiraishi performs in a production of the Japanese musical “Spirited Away”. The stage adaptation is among a host of blockbuster imports and ambitious original works lighting up Seoul’s theatre stages in 2026, including Frozen, Billy Elliot, Hell’s Kitchen, Lempicka, Arang and Six. Photo: courtesy of Johan Persson

A poster for the musical Frozen. Photo: courtesy S&CO

A scene from the musical Let Me Fly, which will return to the stage in Seoul in October. Photo: courtesy of Pro’s Lab

‘Sweat and tears’: a Peking opera actress’s dedication to the Chinese art form

Peking opera actress Zhang Wanting (left) performs a difficult balancing move during a show at the Jixiang Theatre in Beijing, China. Photo: AP

A Peking opera performance at the Jixiang Theatre in Beijing, China. Photo: AP

A Peking opera actor walks past costumes in a dressing area at the Jixiang Theatre. Photo: AP

Zhang practises balancing on a chair armrest before a performance. Photo: AP

Zhang has been training in Peking opera since she was a child. Photo: AP

New Hong Kong street dance festival Flo Fest aims to change ‘troubled kid’ stereotype

Performers take the stage during the opening day of Flo Fest, a street dance event founded by the Hong Kong Street Dance Development Association, on January 3, 2026. Photo: Karma Lo

Performers take the stage during the opening day of Flo Fest, at Hong Kong’s Central Market, on January 3, 2026. Photo: Karma Lo

Ivan Michael Blackstock (left) will bring his Olivier Award-winning dance, Traplord, to Hong Kong’s Flo Fest. Photo: HKSDDA

Dancers perform during the opening day of Flo Fest, at Hong Kong’s Central Market, on January 3, 2026. Photo: Karma Lo

The Ruggeds from the Netherlands will join the international line-up at Flo Fest.

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Catch pianist Martha Argerich, among others, at the inaugural Verbier Festival in Shenzhen in January 2026. Photo:  Getty Images

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Phantom of the Opera returns to the Guangzhou Opera House from January 20 to February 8, 2026. Photo: Guangzhou Opera House

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John Skelley (left) as Harry Potter and Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Photo: AP

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Lifestyle

Arts

Broadway imports Hell’s Kitchen and Lempicka, novel adaptation Arang and musical Six also among the South Korean capital’s highlights


Broadway imports Hell’s Kitchen and Lempicka, novel adaptation Arang and musical Six also among the South Korean capital’s highlights.


Seoul’s 2026 theatre shows to include Frozen, Spirited Away, Billy Elliot

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Broadway imports Hell’s Kitchen and Lempicka, novel adaptation Arang and musical Six also among the South Korean capital’s highlights

Broadway imports Hell’s Kitchen and Lempicka, novel adaptation Arang and musical Six also among the South Korean capital’s highlights