The 4th Seoul Musical Festival Will Be on August 17-24

by Dana Marie / Aug 11, 2015 07:49 AM EDT

Actress Choi Jung-Won arrives at the opening ceremony of the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF). She will be one of the performers during the gala show of Seoul Musical Festival

(Photo : By:Chung Sung-Jun | Getty Images News) Actress Choi Jung-Won arrives at the opening ceremony of the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF). She will be one of the performers during the gala show of Seoul Musical Festival

Korea's first festival - Seoul Musical Festival - that features homegrown musicians will run from August 17-24 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Chungmu Art Hall. This year will be the 4^th celebration of the major event. The previous years have given audiences original musicals such as 'Fly, Mrs. Park' and 'The Goddess Is Watching', all of which are highly popular.

The eight-day festival includes the Yegreen Encore, a group that raises funds for the rental fees of small theaters to help them promote creative musicals. It will showcase the productions, 'I Am an Idol of Joseon' on August 19, 'Red Shoes' on August 21 and 'Aranga' on August 23. Visitors can watch any of these at Chungmu Art Hall's Small Theater.

Other than the Yegreen Encore, the Seoul Musical Festival also features Yegreen Awards, the general assembly of the Federation for Asian Culture Promotion (FACP) and some academic programs.

There will be a gala show hosted by Oh Man-seok to celebrate the festival's opening. The free, first-come-first-serve event will start at 8 p.m. on August 19, with the venue at the Oulim Square of Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Some of the celebrities performing onstage include Choi Jung-won, Jeon Soo-kyeong, BaDa and Jung Sung-hwa, among others. The Euro-Asian Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jeong Joo-young, will perform 'The Phantom of the Opera' and 'Jekyll and Hyde' as well as other popular pieces.

The Seoul Musical Festival won't only feature plays and celebrity performances; it will also showcase the current status and trends of the country's music industry. There will be more booths this year - from the usual 17 to 40. The whole event aims to give insight and to become a distribution platform of domestic musicals.

Other than the musical festival, the city will have plenty of cultural events in August. National Hangeul Museum has a series of presentations starting today until August 16. The Korea Grand Sale will begin on Friday to mark the 70^th Liberation Day on Saturday. And 'Seoul Culture Night' will be on August 28-29.