Jeong Seong-hwa → Shin Bong-seon, now brings laughter and emotion through a musical

Comedians who relieve the public's stress with laughter are demonstrating their talents as musical actors. The public's attention is focused on various cases, from Shin Bong-seon and Jo Hye-ryun, who debuted on the musical stage, to Jeong Sung-hwa, who has already established herself as a top leading actor.

Shin Bong-sun and Jo Hye-ryun, who became known to the public as comedians, were cast side by side in the musical 'Menopause', making it a hot topic. The musical, which will be performed at the KEPCO Arts Center from the 13th to August 25th, is a work that conveys the message that a woman's recovery is not an unspoken worry, but another beginning as a woman. In 'Menopause', Jo Hye-ryeon and Shin Bong-seon play the roles of typical wise mothers and good wives who seem a bit clumsy but possess wisdom, as well as full-time housewives who have recently suffered from depression due to hormonal abnormalities.

In particular, 'Menopause' is meaningful to Shin Bong-seon because it is her musical debut. Shin Bong-seon has previously demonstrated a wide range of acting skills, from dramatic acting to comedic acting, in the play 'I Need a Conversation' and the K STAR drama 'Actually Acting'.

Jo Hye-ryun also participated in the same work ‘Menopause’ performed in 2018. Afterwards, he was recognized as an actor by performing in 'Musical Nonsense 2' and the play 'I Love You, Mom'.

Above all, Shin Bong-seon and Jo Hye-ryun have been active in the music industry so far, raising expectations for this musical. Jo Hye-ryeon is a singer in her 20th year of debut, having released her first album 'Anakana' in 2005, the digital single 'Go' in 2006, 'Grinding and Salty' in 2007, and 'Punch of Love' in 2020. On the 3rd of last month, they released 'Panananala', a remake of 'LA BAMBA', an insert song from the 1987 movie 'La Bamba'. Following 'Anakana', the lyrics of the original song were translated into Korean as they were heard, bringing laughter to the public.

Shin Bong-seon previously showed off her singing skills by forming the idol group 'Celeb Five' with fellow comedians Song Eun-i, Kim Shin-young, and Ahn Young-mi. He debuted with 'Celeb Five (I Want to Be a Celeb)' in 2018 and gained popularity by releasing 'Shutter', and the following year, he released the innocent concept album 'Buy Eyes You Haven't Seen' and received public love.

Jeong Seong-hwa is considered one of the comedian-turned-actors who swept the musical world before them. He is most widely known for his role as the lead character in the musical 'Hero', Doctor Ahn Jung-geun.

Jeong Seong-hwa debuted as a comedian in the third round of SBS open recruitment in 1994. He began his career as an actor through the drama 'KAIST' in 1999, but his acting career took a brief hiatus after that. Meanwhile, at the recommendation of senior comedian Pyo In-bong, he gained stage experience by appearing in the play 'Island' in 2003. Jeong Seong-hwa debuted as a musical actor in 2004 when she was selected for the musical 'I Love You' on the recommendation of Seol Do-yoon, CEO of the performance production company Seol & Company, who enjoyed watching the performance.

Now, 20 years later, he has become a musical star with top ticket power. He played the character of a 'drag queen' (a man who performs cross-dressing) in the musical 'Kinky Boots' from 'Hero', and appeared as Quasimodo in the musical masterpiece 'Notre Dame de Paris', capturing the eyes and ears of musical fans.

Comedians Shin Bo-ra and Jeong Jun-ha also attracted attention by challenging themselves as musical actors. He showed off his singing skills on KBS2's 'Gag Concert - Brave Guys' and MBC's 'King of Mask Singer' and has continued to be active in the music industry, including drama OSTs and album releases. She played the role of Youngsim in the musical ‘March of Youth’ for a total of three seasons from 2015 to 2016 and 2018.

In particular, he won the Best New Artist Award at the 7th Yegreen Musical Awards for 'March of Youth' in 2018. At the time, it was surprising that he beat out prominent candidates such as Min Kyung-ah, who appeared in the musical 'The Man Who Laughs', Lee Tae-eun of 'Shinheung Military Academy', and Lim Ji-su of 'Red Cliff'.

Jeong Jun-ha also debuted in the musical ‘Brothers Were Brave’ in 2015. At the time, he played the role of Lee Seok-bong and received favorable reviews for his cheerful portrayal of the character.

He then played two roles in the 2019 musical 'City of Angels', including the role of film director Buddy Fiedler and the role of a film producer in the film. In addition, Jeong Jun-ha attracted attention by revealing that he lost 5kg to appear in the musical.

Basically, like musical actors, comedians who communicate with the audience on stage have an advantage in entering theater and musical stages due to their outstanding acting skills and vocal skills. The musical stage serves as a new outlet for them to showcase their talents through light-hearted acting. Comedians Shin Bong-seon, Jo Hye-ryun, Jeong Seong-hwa, Shin Bora, and Jeong Jun-ha, who bring laughter on stage, are expected to bring another laughter and emotion to the audience through the musical.

Reporter Lee Min-kyung, Ten Asia 2min_ror@tenasia.co.kr