• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.73-84
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• 2020

South Korea's newly branded musical industry 'K-Musical' is currently booming. The growth of K-Musical can be attributed to the popularity of other industries in the Korean wave, namely K-Pop and Korean dramas. With the inclusion of K-Musicals into the Korean wave, it is beginning to standout on its own as a cultural brand. In the first half of 2012, the popularity of K-Musicals grew 24%, higher than any other performance industry. Moreover, this industry grew 20% in the latter half of 2012 and grew to 300 billion won in 2013. One reason for this growth can be attributed to the increased output of musicals of Korean origin in large-scale theatres dedicated solely to musicals. This has became to necessary foundation for the export of korean musicals abroad. Now is a critical time for Korean musicals to expand to other countries in order to become the hub of Asia for musical industries. 2012 and 2013 saw the greatest increase in the export of musicals to Japan and China. The musical sales in 2018 totaled 257.1 billion won, an increase of 29% over the previous year. Therefore, understanding the importance of these two markets is pivotal in the continued sustainable growth of K-Musicals. This paper seeks to highlights the importance of becoming the canter of Asia musicals and to offer strategies to lead Korea's musical industry toward this goal.