'Swag Age: Shout Out, Joseon!' producer Song Hye-sun plans UK original tour "like Spirited Away"

[Financial News] The original Korean musical "Swag Age: Shout Out, Joseon!", which captivated the West End last year, is now being developed as an original UK tour production aiming to open in 2027.
The show won the newly created "Best Concert Production" category at the 2025 BroadwayWorld UK/West End Awards, organized by theater outlet BroadwayWorld.
Song Hye-sun, head of producer PL Entertainment, said in a phone interview on the 27th, "Support programs tend to prefer licensing over tours. But I believe our actors are so talented that having our cast and staff go together and perform in person is faster and more effective." She added, "It is crucial that audiences get to know our actors first." PL Entertainment also represents musical theater stars Hong Kwang-ho, Kim Sun-young, Yang Hee-jun and Kim Soo-ha.

"Swag Age: Shout Out, Joseon!" premiered in 2019. Set in an imaginary Joseon dynasty where traditional poetic verse (sijo) is banned, it portrays commoners reclaiming freedom and justice through sijo and dance. On September 8 last year, as part of the Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS) "K-Musical English-Speaking Market Mid-Term Development Support Program," it was staged once at London’s West End Gillian Lynne Theatre as a concert-style showcase titled "Swag Age in Concert."
Song explained, "Last year’s London performance was not just a highlights concert. It was a 100-minute show." She continued, "The original running time is about 150 minutes, and we cut roughly 50 minutes to create that version."
Securing a 1,200-seat theater was the decisive turning point for the project. Song recalled that while preparing with UK partner Wild Park, "The moment we locked in a 1,200-seat venue, I thought, ‘Let’s just do it.’" The costs, however, were significant. "The rental fee alone was around 20 million won per day," she said. "One day was not enough for preparations, so we had to book several extra hours as well."
Once they had taken the plunge, worries about ticket sales loomed large. "At first I agonized over how we would ever fill 1,200 seats, and what we would do if the actors had to perform to an empty house," Song recalled. "But once ticketing opened, 300 seats, then 500, then 700 sold in quick succession. It did so well that even I was ‘truly stunned.’" With ticket revenue offsetting part of the burden, she said that combining support funds and ticket income meant "our actual out-of-pocket costs were cut to about half."
There were unexpected variables on the day of the performance as well. "There was a subway strike, so audiences arrived late," she said. "We were supposed to start at 7:30 p.m., but the line was so long that we began 10 minutes late, and people kept coming in even after the show started." She continued, "I had heard London audiences are very reserved, but from the musical number 'This Is the Yangban Play' onward, they jumped to their feet and cheered, which surprised even our local partners." She also noted a local custom: "In the UK, tickets are non-refundable, so audiences are more cautious when they book."

Song cited the worldwide rise of K-culture as a key factor behind the enthusiastic response. "The fact that we were even nominated for an award decided by audience votes is already proof of that interest," she said. "Without such strong support from local audiences, we would never have come this far." Commenting on the razor-thin result, where first and second place were separated by just two votes, she remarked, "At that level, it means the show genuinely connected with local audiences." The runner-up was "Something Rotten!", a musical about the origins of the genre set in Shakespeare’s London.
She also believes the broader success of Korean content in film and music has worked in their favor. "We live in a time when Korean films win awards in Korean, and K-pop is loved worldwide with Korean lyrics," Song said. "Our show is built on distinctly Korean themes, but its music and energy are hip and contemporary, so audiences found it fresh rather than alien." She added, "Watching people laugh while reading the surtitles, then shed tears in the second half, I felt sure they truly understood and empathized with the story."
As a symbolic example of the local response, she pointed to an episode involving the fan prop. "Because the London run was just one day, our local partner suggested we skip merchandise sales," she said. "They mentioned revenue-sharing with the theater and complicated procedures as reasons." Even so, Song brought traditional Korean fans herself for promotion and as gifts. She began handing them out like souvenirs to critics, industry contacts and acquaintances.
The most surprising reaction came from regular audience members. "People who saw the show came up to ask, ‘Aren’t you selling these?’" Song recalled. "Those who received them were absolutely delighted. For a one-day performance, it almost felt like a missed opportunity not to have sold them."

Song also highlighted the reactions of British actors she met through local collaboration. After the K-Musical Market held in Korea in June 2024, a 40-minute reading was staged in London that November with local performers, giving her a chance to witness their positive response to the piece firsthand.
"One of the actors who took part in the reading asked if there was any way to join the full production in Korea," she said. "Just as Hong Kwang-ho once performed on a London stage, this actor said they wanted to go to Korea and perform there as well." The actor, who has previously appeared in large-scale musicals such as "Miss Saigon," even conveyed a desire to "learn Korean if that’s what it takes" to join the show.
Song added, "That actor later came all the way to Korea to see the full production in person. It showed just how much genuine interest and affection there was for the show."
Looking ahead, the team is working toward an "original full production tour." "We are currently in meetings to secure a theater for next year and stage a full-length run," Song said. "Like Spirited Away, we want to do an original tour with our own cast traveling to perform. Our goal is for our core staff—lighting, sound, stage management and others—to go with them as well." She noted that for last year’s London performance, "a total of 28 people" traveled, including 16 actors and the staff.
Meanwhile, the musical "Swag Age: Shout Out, Joseon!" will meet audiences at the Goyang Oulim Nuri Oulim Theater from April 25 to 26.
jashin@fnnews.com Shin Jin-ah Reporter