S. Korean arts industry starts charging for online performances
  • 4 years ago
온라인 공연 얼마를 내고 보시겠습니까... 코로나19 장기화에 온라인 공연 유료화 트렌드

The art industry has been struggling for a long time, offering their online shows for free so people have something to enjoy during these tough times. But in order to survive, they have started charging for performances, and have upgraded their production to make it worth the cost.
Our Kim Bo-kyoung dives in.
How much would you pay for this high quality online performance?
Almost every art center has been producing live online broadcasts for free recently, hoping to lift people's moods.
However as COVID-19 could be around for some time to come, national art groups have decided that in order for the industry to survive, it needs to charge viewers to watch shows online.
Seoul Performing Arts Company and Korea National Opera are pioneering this approach.
Until now most of the shows were made into video just to keep a record of them,... yet now as they are charging the viewers, the videos need upgrading.
"We have to produce high quality, high resolution performances if we are to ask viewers to pay. We used a 4K system, two zimizib cameras and nine cameras to film the show in various aspects."
They also have the difficult matter of deciding how much to charge for their shows.
"Previously when we were making online shows, we asked viewers for donations after the show was over. The average amount of money viewers donated was around 10 U.S. dollars. As the videos are high-quality, we thought around 20 U.S. dollars would be okay."
The heads of national art groups say fans could be impressed by the experiment, as they can see close-ups of actors' faces and expressions.
It could also open up the show to a new audience.
“Until now opera has been considered a show for privileged people. But if people get to enjoy opera online and get used to it, it could attract more fans."
On September 28th and 29th, Seoul Performing Arts Company will perform 'Lost Face 1895' dealing with the last queen of Joseon Dynasty,... Empress Myeongseong.
And a few days earlier on September 25th, the Korea National Opera is putting 'Manon' by Massenet which shows the peak of French opera aesthetics. Both are accessible on Naver TV.
Kim Bo-kyoung, Arirang News.
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