KPOP is a stage musical inspired by the Korean music industry of the same name, featuring music from Helen Park & Max Vernon and a book by Jason Kim. It follows several different Korean pop groups who have gathered for a special concert in New York City, but find themselves facing cultural and personal issues that put the future of their careers at risk.
The show first ran off-Broadway, September 5 — October 21 2017. A revised version came to Broadway in 2022, running from November 27 to December 11. The Broadway cast featured a number of real-life Kpop stars, including Luna, Kevin Woo, Min-Young Lee, and Bohyung Kim.
This musical contains examples of:
- Ambiguous Ending: It's not entirely clear by the end of the show whether MwE stays with RBY or goes off to live with Juny.note
- Audience Participation: As much of the show is structured as a concert, audiences are encouraged to cheer and react likewise.
- Bilingual Bonus: At one point a member of F8 quotes what he believes to be from a rap "People contain multitudes." Another member, in fluent Korean, proceeds to berate him as he is actually quoting Walt Whitman. It's a fairly easy joke to understand even if you don't speak Korean, but as he rants at them those who do know the language will realize he's berating this guy for getting it wrong even though he went to Harvard.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Juny and MwE.
- Diegetic Musical: The story takes place during a rehearsal & concert, and most songs are being performed (and reacted-to) by the characters in-universe.
- Ensemble Cast: While MwE is the central figure, the story also involves her fellow music groups RTMIS and F8 as well as various corporate figures.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: MwE's central conflict, whether to stay in the music industry with her mentor Ruby or leave it for a quieter life with her love interest Juny. The ending is left ambiguous.
- Girl Group: Naturally, although some of the musician characters are male.
- Lighter and Softer: The second version of the musical definitely has a lot less focus on systemic processes & issues within the Kpop industry (though some such elements are still present). Writer Jason Kim was quoted as saying "we weren't interested in making an exposé."
- Mistaken for Foreigner: Jun Hyuk trying to get the rest of the band to agree that it's not right to have an American in their Korean boy band backfires. Massively.Jae Ik: Dude, I'm from Queens!Danny: Hey, me too!
- Real Life Writes the Plot: The plot is supposed to be taking place in the present day, and the original version centred around the artists struggling to break into the American market. By 2022, several real-life Kpop groups like BTS have already made it big in America, so the new version focuses more on the characters' personal issues and relationships.
- Reality Has No Subtitles: While the majority of the show is in English, there is also some music and dialogue in Korean.
- Selling the Show: In-universe example. A major plotline involves shady filmmaker Harry trying to get the artists to spill their personal issues and complaints on camera. However, he is mostly rebuffed, especially by the members of RTMIS.
- On a meta-level, what a lot of fans of the Off-Broadway production felt the creative team did with the Broadway version.
- The Svengali: Ruby, although she softens up by the end.
- Weight Woe: A flashback sequence shows thirteen-year-old MwE being berated for her "tree-trunk legs".
