K-Pop Idol Bias In Korean Musical Productions

As the stage production of The Three Musketeers came to a close in Seoul, media outlets and fans have been sharing their two cents about Wonder Girl Yeeun's first musical appearance.

A feature article that appeared on Newsen this weekend said that Yeeun overcame difficulties and "broke the idol bias" in the theater industry. They said that her unique and pure voice impressed the audience and that the show was a success.

Judging by the netizen response, however, this may not be the whole story.

There does seem to exist this "idol bias" where famous K-Pop stars are cast in musicals as a sort of way to increase ticket sales and popularity of the theatrical shows regardless of their ability to perform on stage.

The producers of such musicals tend to like casting famous pop singers and idols in their shows to appeal to a broader range of audience members; the singers tend to draw a younger crowd as well as a lot of international fans (mostly Japanese) who come to watch their favorite idols preform in a much different setting.

Fans of the theater are generally unimpressed by the pop stars' performances and tend to be very harsh in their critiques.

But as ticket sales reflect, this trend and "bias" is not going to stop any time soon. In fact, it is quite the opposite. More and more idols are vying for roles in musicals like the many who have come before them. They see such roles as a way for them to not only showcase their voices in a different kind of live performance, but also to perfect their acting abilities.

However, the busy schedules of idol stars, who are often busy with multiple promotional activities with their groups, make it difficult for them to fully commit to the show rehearsals, and ends with a less-than-ideal production performance.

Many critics and theater professionals have spoken out against the "idol" bias citing that many of the pop stars who are given roles lack the acting skills necessary to do a musical justice and have gotten further disapproval for sub-par live singing skills.

JYJ's Kim Junsu is a definite exception to this rule. He has incredible ticketing power and has been praised across the board for his musical performances - he has even won several awards for his stage acting roles including one for 'Best Actor.'

While just about everyone agrees that Yeeun made significant improvement over the course of The Three Musketeers's run on stage, it has also been pointed out that the singer was unqualified for the role in the first place. One commenter pointed out, "A musical performance is not the stage to show your improvement (it's to show the final product). That's why people are so uptight with castings."