Park Chun-hue (left) and Will Aronson, co-creators of musical “Maybe Happy Ending, pose after winning the Tony Award for Best Original Score at the 78th Tony Awards held at Radio City Music Hall in New York on June 8 (local time). / AFP-Yonhap News

The Korean original musical “Maybe Happy Ending,” which was born in Seoul’s Daehangno district, won six awards, including Best Musical, at the Tony Awards, the most prestigious accolades in American theater and musical performance, held on June 8 (local time). Following K-pop boy band BTS’s Billboard chart-topping hits, the Academy Award for film “Parasite,” the Emmy win for TV series “Squid Game,” and author Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature, this marks yet another global recognition of Korean culture.

At the 78th Tony Awards ceremony held at Radio City Music Hall in New York, “Maybe Happy Ending” took home six awards, including Best Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Scenic Design of a Musical, out of its 10 nominations.

Having already swept major awards from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, the Drama League Awards, and the Outer Critics Circle, industry watchers were curious to see how many Tonys it would ultimately secure.

This marks the first time a Korean original musical has won a Tony. While previous productions with Korean involvement, such as “The Great Gatsby,” led by OD Company CEO Shin Chun-soo, and “Moulin Rouge!” co-produced by CJ ENM, have received Tony Awards, “Maybe Happy Ending” is the first domestically developed and premiered Korean musical to win.

Upon receiving the award for Best Original Score with composer Will Aronson, lyricist and co-creator Park Chun-hue, also known as Hue Park, said, “We are truly grateful to the Broadway community for embracing us.” Park described the musical as “a melting pot” that blends Korean indie pop, American jazz, modern classical music, and traditional Broadway elements.

“Maybe Happy Ending” is set in the near future and tells the story of two helper robots, Oliver and Claire, who unexpectedly fall in love. Park Chun-hue and Will Aronson, often referred to as “WillHue” by fans, began collaborating after meeting in graduate school in New York in 2008. Their joint works include “Maybe Happy Ending,” “Bungee Jumping of Their Own,” “Il Tenore,” and “Ghost Bakery.”

After its premiere in Korea in 2016, “Maybe Happy Ending“ officially opened on Broadway last November at the 1,000-seat Belasco Theatre in Manhattan. It was produced by Jeffrey Richards, a prominent Broadway producer with eight Tony wins, and directed by Michael Arden, who won Best Revival of a Musical at the Tonys in 2023. The Broadway version retained the original characters, storyline, and Korean setting, with only the cast and direction localized.

The musical’s success at the Tonys is being seen as global recognition of Korea’s musical theater production capabilities. Performing arts critic and Soonchunhyang University professor Won Jong-won said, “Broadway and London’s West End are known for their high barriers to entry, especially for non-English productions. For a homegrown Korean work to be acknowledged here is like a dream. It is as significant as “Parasite” winning the Oscars.”

In the landscape of American cultural honors, the most prestigious awards include the Academy Awards (Oscars) for film, such as director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” and actress Youn Yuh-jung’s performance in “Minari,” the Grammy Awards for music, where BTS has been nominated, and the Emmy Awards for television, exemplified by director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s “Squid Game.” Among these, the Tony Awards are regarded as the highest honor in the field of live theater and musicals, representing the pinnacle of achievement on the Broadway stage.

Observers note that this win aligns with growing global interest in Korean cultural content, amplified by streaming platforms and social media. With Seoul increasingly being portrayed as a futuristic city, the musical’s themes, centered around AI robots in a near-future Seoul, resonated as timely and relevant.

Experts expect that this win will accelerate the international expansion of Korean musicals. “The Great Gatsby” opened in London’s West End this year, while “Marie Curie” became the first Korean original musical to stage a long-running local production in the West End last year. Meanwhile, the Chinese licensed version of “Fan Letter” won seven awards, including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, at China’s prestigious annual musical theater awards.

Professor Won added, “For there to be a second and third ‘Happy Ending,’ the public needs to engage more with musicals to strengthen the industry’s competitiveness. To achieve that, we must create a stable production environment that allows for more reasonable ticket pricing.”