[News Today] MUSICAL PUB GAINS POPULARITY

[LEAD]
Musicals are back and alive more than ever. Last year, ticket sales soared to a record high. In response, theaters are lowering their thresholds to draw even more audiences. We take a look.

[REPORT]
An ordinary-looking restaurant filled with a familiar tune.

Someone comes on to the stage set up at a corner.

In an instant, a musical is performed.

This is a musical pub where customers have a meal while watching a musical at the same time. Diners can freely sing along and enjoy themselves.

Han Bom/ Incheon resident
It feels as if I know the actor well and that I am part of the musical.

It offers musical actors rare and precious opportunities to showcase their skills.

Park Hong-soon/ Musical actor
There aren't many opportunities to perform. We can hone our skills while singing and acting.

The relaxed atmosphere, compared to stiff theater settings, and the lower ticket prices, much cheaper than typical musicals costing over 100,000 won, or about 75 U.S. dollars, are drawing in audiences.

Lee Samuel/ Musical pub owner
Musicals may seem formal, so this is an attempt to show that musicals can be enjoyed as casually as pop music.

Last year, ticket sales of musicals hit an all-time high of 459 billion won, or over 344 million dollars.

The musical industry is starting a new challenge to lower barriers and get closer to audiences.