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| Yun Ho-jin, center, producer and director of "Hero," speaks during a press conference announcing forthcoming performances of the epic musical in China, last Monday. On the left is actor Kang Tae-eul, playing the role of Ahn Jung-geun, and on the right is Park Dong-woo, set designer of "Hero." / Courtesy of Acom International |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The producer of the Korean musical "Hero," which charts the life of independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910), has been invited to stage the show in Harbin, China. It will be put on stage beginning in December, after the 105th anniversary of the independence activist's death, which fell on Oct. 26.
Acom International, the production company of the musical, said "Hero" will be staged four times at the Children's Palace Art Center Theatre in Harbin on Dec. 20 and 21. The 900-seat theater is one of the most well furbished theaters in the Chinese city.
The show was premiered at Seoul's LG Arts Center in 2009 and was then taken to New York in 2011, successfully completing 11 performances at the David H. Koch Theater in the Lincoln Center.
"From the beginning, we wanted to perform in Harbin, where Ahn assassinated former Resident-General of Korea Ito Hirobumi, but it took years for us to clinch the deal," said Yun Ho-jin, producer and director of the show.
The musical explores Ahn's life as a patriotic fighter as well as his "Peace of East Asia" philosophy. The musical has received favorable reviews for its captivating music and state-of-the-art technology which uses life-size railway carriages and projections of city scenes.
In the Harbin performance, veteran musical actor Kang Tae-eul will play the independence activist who pursued peace in Asia.
The company revealed that discussions on the Chinese performance began back in January, which eventually led the Harbin city government to officially send out an invitation last month.
"We thought of touring Harbin with Korean actors for a short-term, but Harbin city wants to perform ‘Hero' regularly with Chinese actors and tour China nationwide. The offer was much better than we expected," Yun said.
Harbin opened a memorial for Ahn Jung-geun earlier this year, in response to President Park Geun-hye's request to commemorate Ahn's assassination in Harbin Railway Station.
"We were invited to celebrate the opening of Ahn's memorial, but we seek long-term relations with Harbin. A new 1,600-seat theater opens in Harbin next year and we are in talks for performing at the opening of the theater. A Chinese version of the musical is also in discussion."
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