Three Phantoms Named for 40th-Anniversary Seoul Return

S&Co has cast Choi Jae-rim, Jeon Dong-seok and Park Gang-hyeon as the Phantom for 'The Phantom of the Opera's' 40th-anniversary Seoul run opening Dec. 22.

Producer S&Co announced that Choi Jae-rim, Jeon Dong-seok and Park Gang-hyeon will all play the Phantom in the 40th-anniversary Seoul production, opening December 22 for a two-month run at Blue Square Woori Bank Hall (through February 28). Cineplay describes the trio as "three musical geniuses," and the stakes are unusually high: the run marks both the show's global 40th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of its Korean premiere. Choi returns to the role for the first time in three years, while Park is the notable newcomer to this production.

Splitting the Phantom among three marquee names is a statement about how big this anniversary is for Korean musical theater. According to The Herald Business, Choi says taking part as the Phantom a second time feels special because of the 40th-anniversary banner, while Jeon calls the show the one that "awakened me to the musical theater genre." Cineplay reports Lee Hae-won and Choi Sun-ho share Christine — with Choi making her Christine debut — and Song Won-geun and Kim Seong-sik play Raoul, Kim also a first-timer in the role.

Both Korean outlets frame the scale of the anniversary: The Herald Business reports the musical has been performed in 52 countries and 217 cities in 23 languages, drawing more than 160 million audience members and winning more than 70 major awards including the Tony and Olivier. The outlet also notes the underground-lake boat scene was paid homage at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, when a masked torchbearer traveled by boat to the show's signature melody.

London Theatre reports first-look images of the 40th-anniversary West End cast, with Jordan Donica as the Phantom, Beatrice Penny-Touré as Christine, Rhys Whitfield as Raoul and Sierra Boggess as Carlotta at His Majesty's Theatre, where the show opened on 9 October 1986. That cast plays through 21 November, with a special anniversary gala performance on 9 October. The publication also notes Colleen Rose Curran plays Christine at certain performances.

The milestones land back to back: London's anniversary gala on 9 October arrives first, then Seoul's production opens 22 December at Blue Square. Cineplay says the anniversary cast is meant to demonstrate "the pinnacle of stagecraft befitting its 40-year legacy," while The Herald Business quotes Park Gang-hyeon promising the audience the best performance he can give as the new Phantom.