Time now for our "Life & Info" segment... where we focus on information useful for your everyday life, whether you are in Korea or somewhere else around the world.
Today, we turn our focus to Culture
And to explain what's going on in South Korea right now, we have our Won Jung-hwan in the studio for us.
Hi Jung-hwan.
Hi Mark, I am here today to introduce you to a musical,… which many people have probably heard about before.
The musical is the second part of the 'Along with the Gods' series,… which was originally based on a webtoon first released on an Internet portal... some nine years ago.
But many people probably recognize the name... from the two film adaptations which were screened in theaters quite recently.
The first of these fantasy-action-drama films was released in 2017,… becoming the third-most watched movie in South Korean history.
The second one wasn't bad either. It was released at the end of last year,… drawing a domestic audience of more than 10 million... good enough for 10th place on the all-time list.
But I am not here in the studio today... to talk specifically about the movie.
Yes exactly,... you want to introduce us to the musical right?
But I want to ask you first,… just to be clear,... the story is about deities right? Like those in Greek and Roman mythologies?
Yes correct,… but with a modern, Korean twist.
"Along With the Gods" portrays Korean folk gods in a contemporary and fun fashion.
As I have mentioned briefly before,… the story is based on a webtoon,… and that webtoon has three main chapters,… 'The Afterlife', 'The Present' and 'The Legend'.
Those titles are quite literal.
'The Afterlife' is about the afterlife,… 'The Present' is about day-to-day life in the world we live in,… and 'The Legend' is about the gods themselves.
And the musical that is running in Seoul until the end of this week,… is the second part of the series,… 'The Present'.
Part one, 'The Afterlife', was showcased four years ago,… and it was a huge hit with every performance being sold out.
It was refreshing to the audience because it had a slightly different plot... compared to the film adaptation and the original webtoon.
"How the audience takes in webtoons, films and musicals are all different. For example, I re-arranged the characters according to the musical-fit, so viewers can understand the plot more easily."
So first tell us briefly about the story,… and explain how it is different from the plot of the original webtoon.
Okay, so the story goes like this.
8-year-old Dong-hyun lives alone with his grandfather. When an urban redevelopment project in their neighborhood threatens their home,… two House Guardian gods decide to appear in human form... risking themselves to protect the house.
To make matters worse,... gods of the underworld arrive to try and take away Dong-hyun's grandfather to the afterlife,… and the guardian gods struggles to protect the old man... who is raising his young grandson alone.
But that is not it.
The musical ef
