The Industrialization and Globalization of China’s Musical Theater

Abstract

After the successful development and spread of Korean media products, such as television dramas, films, pop music, and so forth, major players in the industry are actively seeking ways to globalize their business practices from market research to product delivery. Globalization of the media business, however, provides few working models or theories. Unlike other business operations, media production and consumption involve cultural and political filtering processes that are not easily translated into different social contexts. In the last decade, the development of the musical theater business in China, in cooperation with Korean musical companies, provides an interesting case study of success within the cultural industries. Combining Korean technology and expertise with the rising Chinese-culture market, global musicals were reborn in local productions with notable financial successes. This short essay explores the recent development of musical ventures in Shanghai from the perspective of global collaboration. The political will of the Chinese government, rising and maturing cultural markets in the megacities of China, Korean performing arts companies ’ desire to globalize, and the local production of global joint ventures are key elements examined.