STAYC member Sieun of the group STAYC is taking on her first musical through "Seopyeonje," and a newly created casting for her has appeared, continuing controversy over favoritism.
On the 2nd, the production company Page One released the casting for the 2026 season of the musical "Seopyeonje," which opens on April 30.
"Seopyeonje" is based on Lee Cheong-jun's short story of the same name and follows the wandering and choices of a family of pansori singers, depicting how "sound" enables a person to endure life and ultimately sublimates it into art. At the end of the play, there is a scene in which Song-hwa delivers a passage from the pansori "Simcheongga," condensing emotions accumulated over a long period.
Returning after four years since the final season in 2022, "Seopyeonje" will feature Lee Ja-ram, Cha Ji-yeon, Lee Bom-sori, Sieun, Jung Eun-hye, Kim Kyeong-soo, Yoo Hyun-seok, Kim Junsu, Seo Beom-seok, Park Ho-san and Kim Tae-han. The centerpiece of this season is the newly introduced "elderly Song-hwa" setting.
In previous productions, a single actor led Song-hwa's life from youth to old age, but this season Sieun will play the young Song-hwa and pansori singer Jung Eun-hye will pair as the elderly Song-hwa.
In announcing the casting, the producers described the pair casting as a "new attempt," explaining that the returning "Seopyeonje" after four years sought to expand the casting landscape in a more open way and explore broadening the scope of casting so that young and promising actors could take on more active challenges.
However, audiences are dissatisfied because the pair casting does not change the structure of the play or add new devices, and the fact that STAYC's Sieun was cast and then an elderly Song-hwa role was created seems forced. They argue the loose link between elderly and young Song-hwa could rather damage the original appeal and immersive "Seopyeonje" narrative that stems from Song-hwa's growth and transformation.
Critics also pointed out that Cha Ji-yeon, who played Song-hwa in the original production of "Seopyeonje," was 27, only two years older than Sieun, who is currently 25; that Jung Eun-hye, who takes on the elderly Song-hwa, is younger than Cha Ji-yeon and Lee Ja-ram, who previously portrayed all ages of Song-hwa alone; and that the pivotal pansori passage from "Simcheongga" will be performed by Jung Eun-hye in the elderly Song-hwa role rather than by Sieun.
In the process, Sieun left a remark on a private messaging platform saying "it would be a bit of a stretch for me to play a 70-year-old with my face; there might be a slight sense of disconnection," and "I'm the youngest Song-hwa. It does feel burdensome in many ways," remarks that have also drawn criticism.
Meanwhile, the musical "Seopyeonje" will be performed at the BBCH Hall of the Kanglim Arts Center from April 30 to July 19.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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