Korea’s hottest city, Daegu, will heat up even more next month as this year’s annual Daegu International Musical Festival will be the most diverse one in its 11 year history, featuring 26 musicals from nine countries across the world including Korea.

The 11th DIMF will be held from June 23 to July 10 in major theaters across the metropolitan area.

“If the past 10 years had been a period of laying the foundation for the DIMF, the next 10 will be the time when it takes a leap toward becoming a global festival. This year marks the first step toward that goal,” said DIMF president Jang Ik-hyeon during a press conference held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Tuesday.

While the DIMF has typically hosted pieces from four to five foreign countries, production companies from eight foreign countries will show off their works in Daegu this year.

“Each year we were busy trying to find musicals to be held, but this year so many production companies have sent their videos and asked to participate... This year we will stage ensembles from Poland, India and the Philippines for the first time at the DIMF,” said Bae Seung-hyuk, the executive committee chairman of the event.

Headlining this year’s line-up is the opening performance from UK-produced musical comedy “Spamalot,” adapted from the 1975 cult classic “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” 

A parody piece very loosely based on the legend of King Arthur, the story follows King Arthur as he rounds up his knights of the famous Round Table and sets out on a mission to find the Holy Grail.

“With all the social issues going on around Korea, our goal this year was to select a musical that people can just watch and wholeheartedly enjoy,” said Bae.

After the swashbuckling fun of the British comedy, musical fans will be served “Game” from Russia, “Shakespeare’s 12th Night” from India, “New York...er” from Taiwan, “Madame Luciole” from France, “The Gift of the Magi” from China, “We are Friends” and “Jang Making Day” from Korea.

“Polita,” which is the first Polish musical ever to be shown at the DIMF, will round things up as the closing performance. 

The DIMF has also worked to support works of a select number of up-and-coming local producers. This year’s new musicals include a mystery thriller “The Fiction,” black comedy “Memory,” drama of “Pianoforte” and “Beautiful, Sad Day” inspired by the real story of Korean freedom fighters during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonization of the country.

The College Musical Festival, whose 11-year history runs parallel with that of the DIMF, will host eight musicals from local universities along with “Real Life Fairytales” from Ateneo de Manila University.

The tickets will be made available online at Interpark at 2 p.m. next Monday. A 2-for-1 package is available.

To learn more about the event, visit www.dimf.or.kr for information provided in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese.



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)