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Current Affairs

Why are Chinese audiences going for Korean musicals rather than Western shows?

As the lights dimmed in the Shanghai theatre, the string quartet struck up once more for the encore.
Tina Zhang was fully drawn into the psychological…

By Samantha Johnson / June 28, 2026
As the lights dimmed in the Shanghai theatre, the string quartet struck up once more for the encore.
Tina Zhang was fully drawn into the psychological thriller, but it was not until after the show that she found out that the musical was originally from South Korea.

Zhang, 39, saw the official Chinese adaptation of Interview for the first time last year.

“The logic was tight, the plot was well-structured and interwoven, and it was genuinely engaging,” she said.

Over the past few years, a number of licensed South Korean musicals have received a warm reception in China, where cultural overlap helps them to win over audiences more easily than their Western counterparts.

Xu Jianing, a 23-year-old postgraduate student in Shanghai, said Interview was the best South Korean adaptation she has seen so far.

“Every character is vividly portrayed, and everything connects seamlessly. At the same time, while the main storyline stays intact, different actors still have room for interpretation, and there are intentional ambiguities that invite the audience to think for themselves.”

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