Hong wins 2nd Korea Musical Awards

Actor Hong Kwang-ho makes an acceptance speech after winning the Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2nd Korea Musical Awards held at the Grand Peace Hall of Kyung Hee University in Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Korea Musical Awards

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Theater actor Hong Kwang-ho finally had a breakthrough after 16 years at awards ceremonies in Korea, winning the trophy for this year's Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2nd Korea Musical Awards held at the Grand Peace Hall of Kyung Hee University in Seoul, Monday.

Hong won the award for his portrayal of Cyrano de Bergerac in the musical "Cyrano," composed by Frank Wildhorn.

"I am grateful to all audiences, especially those who regularly support Korean musical theater. They make the miracle and a nameless ensemble actor such as me feel I could play Jekyll and the Phantom and win such a prestigious award. I wish to continue to have a positive influence on audiences who come to the theater every night," Hong said in his acceptance speech.

He debuted as part of the ensemble in the Korean musical "The Last Empress" in 2002 and started to become distinguished when he was the understudy for the lead role of Chris in the Korean production of "Miss Saigon" in 2006.

Hong climbed to stardom step by step, playing roles such as Tobias in the Sondheim musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" and Solongo in the Korean show "BBallae" (Laundry).

He played Viscount Raoul de Chagny in "The Phantom of the Opera" in 2010 and later performed the Phantom in the same production, becoming one of the youngest actors in the world to portray the dramatic character. Other credits in Korea include Jekyll in "Jekyll & Hyde," Yuri Zhivago in "Doctor Zhivago" and Quasimodo in "Notre-Dame de Paris."

In 2014, Hong headed to the United Kingdom to play the Vietnamese officer Thuy in the West End revival of "Miss Saigon." Though uncrowned in Korea, Hong won Best Supporting Actor in a Musical at the 15th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards in the U.K. in 2015.

After his London stint, he returned to Korea and starred as Light Yagami in the 2015 musical adaptation of "Death Note." Currently, Hong plays Hamlet in the Korean musical "Hamlet: Alive."

Hosted by the Korea Musical Theater Association, the award was established last year. There were other musical awards in Korea from 1995 to 2013, hosted by the newspaper, Sports Chosun, but were discontinued.

The new award aims to strengthen ties among thespians and distinguish the best, serving as a stepping stone for Korean musicals to reach further audiences abroad.

"Maybe Happy Ending" received the most awards by walking off with six trophies -- Will Aronson for Best Music, Will Aronson and Hue Park for Best Book, Kim Dong-yeon for Best Director, Han Kyung-sook for Best Producer, Jeon Mi-do for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Little Theater Musical.

The musical, revolving around two robots that fall in love with each other in the near future in Seoul, earned great success in Korea and is now eyeing for Broadway.

This year's Best Musical went to "Ben-Hur," directed by Wang Yong-beom. The musical also won the Best Scenic Design and Best Ensemble Performance awards.