Ock Joo-hyun, who failed to manage her condition, appears again... Can't fix it or can't fix it

≪Choi Ji-ye’s Epilogue≫
Reporter Choi Ji-ye of Ten Asia objectively and keenly points out events that have occurred throughout the entertainment industry. We carefully analyze the ‘glitch’ you missed from a reporter’s perspective.

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Another overlapping appearance. Ock Joo-hyun, a member of the group Fin.K.L. and musical actress, is appearing again. He would never know the side effects of appearing in musicals.

Ock Joo-hyun is busy as ever in 2024. Since the end of February, she has been on stage in the role of Margrid Arnault, the main character of the musical 'Marie Antoinette', and has been meeting audiences as 'Mrs. Danvers' in the musical 'Rebecca' tour, which has been ongoing since August of last year. Also, on the 16th, she will hold 'Ock Joo-hyun with Friends Musical Concert', a performance brand of musical divas created under her name.

Ock Joo-hyun's presence in the current musical world is clear. Audience satisfaction and loyalty to Ok Joo-hyun's performances are high. This means there is ticket power. It is natural that an actor with ticket power receives many offers, and it is difficult for an actor with a passion for the stage to refuse them, but Ok Joo-hyun's case is different. The problem is that even though several problems have been encountered due to the enforcement of overlapping appearances, they have not been corrected. Even if there was no such history, it can only be read as the actor's greed to make overlapping appearances even though he knows that unexpected cases may arise.

Ock Joo-hyun has a history of ruining the performance of 'Wicked' in Busan in June 2021 by failing to perform the main number of the role 'Elphaba' due to poor physical condition. Accordingly, 'Wicked' took measures to 'refund full tickets' to the audience who came to see the performance, and Ock Joo-hyun also officially apologized through social media. In April last year, Ock Joo-hyun changed the casting for 'Beethoven's Secret Season 2' and 'Red Book', saying, "I was suddenly in a situation where I had to have minor surgery."

Both cases resulted from Ock Joo-hyun's excessive greed. At the time of the 'Wicked' performance in question, Ock Joo-hyun was making multiple appearances as Mercedes in the musical 'Monte Cristo'. At the time of the casting change, he was working on ‘Beethoven’s Secret Season 2’ and ‘Red Book’ at the same time. In particular, in this case, even if the period was extended by changing the casting, recovery time after surgery would have been necessary. Ock Joo-hyun suffered because she did not have enough recovery time, and the audience must have had to watch her acting and singing anxiously.

Ock Joo-hyun's overlapping appearances are also connected to the problem of making it difficult to discover new stars in the musical industry. If some star musical actors appear in two or three works overlapping, it will result in blocking the opportunity for younger actors to advance to leading roles. There are voices saying that if you continue to force overlapping appearances and monopolize the stage, you should feel that you are blocking the space for juniors to rise up.

Previously, Choi Jae-rim, a musical sensation, also appeared in three productions, including ‘Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Les Miserables’, and ‘The Last Five Years’, but eventually failed. Due to being diagnosed with COVID-19, there was a hiatus from the stage for nearly 3 weeks. Because there were many works in progress, the inconvenience was also great. Of course, being confirmed with COVID-19 cannot be seen as Choi Jae-rim's fault alone, but it also meant that overlapping appearances could have a greater impact on the same problem.

Of course, overlapping appearances in musicals cannot be seen solely as the actor's fault. There are clearly structural problems, such as the small size of the domestic musical market and the viewing culture that is determined by the actors rather than the work. However, it is disappointing to see no change even though the problem of overlapping appearances continues to be pointed out.

If an actor with a strong presence in the musical world meets the audience while focusing only on one work with conviction, wouldn't it be the first step to solving the problem of 'overlapping' that has been chronic for a long time? I hope that Ock Joo-hyun will be at the beginning.

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr