Head of nation’s lone circus troupe insists show must go on

By Koh Hyunjeong

Photos = Dongchun Circus

“The country and its people saved the social enterprise Dongchun Circus.”

“Our circus show is easy for the whole family to understand and far from boring.”

With a rich history dating back to 1925, Dongchun Circus has captivated audiences for almost a century. Leader Park Sae-hwan has firmly protected his troupe through countless twists and turns over the years.

The country has just one circus troupe left: Dongchun Circus.

Founded in 1925, the circus dominated the 1950s through 80s and played a vital role at a time when television and a robust culture of performing arts were absent.

Back then, it was practically the sole source of entertainment and festivities for the country. The troupe still offers a comprehensive artistic performance stitching together traditional theater, singing shows on stage, traditional musical performances like pungmul (traditional percussive music and dance), gugak (traditional music) and chang (traditional narrative song), and the dazzling tricks of magicians and acrobats. This unique blend brought laughter and emotion to audiences of all ages.

Heading the 99-year-old troupe throughout his life is Park Sae-hwan, 80, who has endured countless twists and turns over the years and beams with pride over Dongchun’s enduring legacy. When it comes to content and original technology, he insists his group is as competitive as Cirque du Soleil, the global gold standard for artistic circuses.

A Korea.net writer on April 24 interviewed Park at a cafe in the Doksan-dong neighborhood of Seoul’s Geumcheon-gu District on the troupe’s past, present and future and from its heyday to a crisis that nearly led to its extinction.

The following are excerpts from the interview, in which he stressed the troupe’s unwavering passion, saying, “Even with a single spectator, we will go on.”

How can people see Dongchun Circus?

Dongchun Circus’ permanent performance venue is on Daebudo Island off the coast of Ansan, Gyeonggi-do Province. The tent-decorated facility is air conditioned and allows dogs. It’s open to everyone. We have two daily performances on weekdays and three on weekends. Each performance is about 90 minutes. For more information, visit our official website (http://www.circusdc.com). 

What makes your circus worth seeing?

First, it’s a popular and very affordable show. With a discount, tickets are priced from KRW 10,000-20,000 but that never means the show is lacking in quality. Dongchun Circus takes pride in devising its programming. It even continued to perform throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, believing that people need the joy and fantasy of the circus even more during difficult times. The show is intuitive and thus easy to understand and enjoyable for all ages and genders. This is why most visitors are in their 40s and come with their parents and children. There’s no language barrier, so foreign visitors can enjoy the show, too.

Have you considered raising your ticket prices, which seem low given rising inflation?

We intentionally keep our ticket prices low. We believe that the country and its people saved Dongchun Circus, and so we want to make sure everyone can afford it. Back in November 2009, we faced our biggest crisis. We had over 40 performers but about 10 spectators at each performance. When news spread that we were on the verge of collapse due to financial difficulty, a movement to save us attracted an outpouring of support. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism consulted with the Ministry of Employment and Labor and eventually designated us a social enterprise. I’ll never forget how audiences came with their families, friends and lovers holding hands to save Dongchun Circus.

What dreams do you have for your troupe?.

Our goal is to create a circus academy and a permanent theater. Circus is a multidisciplinary art and acrobats need to know all skills like physical strength, dance and daring. They have to systematically train from age 8 to perform on stage at 14. They peak between the ages of 15 and 20. I also want to build a permanent theater to give foreign tourists in Seoul something to talk about over and over again.

Any events scheduled next year to mark your troupe’s 100th anniversary?

We’re organizing a global circus competition to open next year. The World Circus Festival will feature circus troupes from five countries like China and Russia who will perform nationwide. To mark Children’s Day (May 5), we will take part in this year’s Seoul Circus Festival on Nodeulseom Island in Seoul from May 4-5. This is a rare chance to see a variety of stunts for free including twin bars, circus ballet, trapeze, one-handed stair climbing and ring walking. You can even see the wheel of life and death, where performers run blindfolded on a large rotating structure. Adults and children alike are welcome to come and have fun.

Clockwise from top left are aerial circus, one-handed stair climbing, twin bars and circus ballet.

hjkoh@korea.kr