Celebrating their first Tony Award victory, South Koreans say it emphasizes the cultural powerhouse status of their nation.
Originally presented in South Korea almost ten years ago, the praised Broadway production of Maybe Happy Ending received six Tonys, including best musical.
Perhaps Happy Ending centers on the romance between two humanoid robots housed in an apartment building in Seoul’s outskirts. It had ten nominations when it entered the Sunday night awards event.
South Koreans have lately claimed the four most sought-after prizes in US entertainment with the Tonys. Squid Game took home Emmy honors in 2022; Parasite took home four Oscars in 2020. In 1993 Soprano Sumi Jo took home a Grammy.
Sunday saw American composer Will Aronson and South Korean lyricist Hue Park take home the Tony for outstanding original score and best book of a musical.
Having met as undergraduates at New York University, the two had composed the musical in both English and Korean before making their Broadway debut with Maybe Happy Ending in 2024.
One post on Threads says, “This is amazing!”. “I heard the Broadway rendition grew much more refined. That Korea is rising to be a real cultural powerhouse makes me rather proud.
“This feels like a dream come true for the Korean Wave,” says still another post. “I’m exactly as excited as when Parasite took home the Oscars, Squid Game won the Emmys, and Han Kang got the Nobel Prize.”
Playing Oliver, one of the robots, former Glee star Darren Criss won outstanding lead actor in a musical. That was his first Tony triumph.
Already on a surge this awards season, the musical also stars Helen J Shen as robot Claire.
This year it received some of the major accolades at the Outer Critics Circle Awards and Drama League Awards.
Originally directed by Kim Dong-yeon, Maybe Happy Ending opened in Seoul in 2016 to great reviews. Since then, it has been renewed multiple times both domestically in Korea and internationally in both Korean and English.
Perhaps the popularity of Happy Ending results from South Korean performers pushing boundaries in entertainment, particularly with K-pop bands like Blackpink ruling music in the past few years.
Some social media users also find it a window into Korean society.
“It’s amazing that Korean elements like Jeju Island, fireflies, and hwabun (a plant pot) were kept in the Broadway version too,” notes one Threads post.
“I already felt proud just seeing it nominated; but, it was especially more memorable to see the local audience react so favorably.”
