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Chinese Actress to Star in Korean Musical

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

The domestic film industry has had its eye on overseas markets and is introducing novelty by casting foreign actors in their works.

Musicals are now doing the same.

The 2001 Korean film "Failan" starred Chinese actress Cecilia Cheung and Korean actor Choi Min-shik. This year, Yin You Can, 22, was selected as the female lead out of 50 finalists at an audition in Beijing.

The musical "Failan" will open Sept. 11 in Seoul's Daehangno district.

"It was a big challenge for me to come to Korea as I was doing plays and TV dramas in China. But I thought I shouldn't miss this opportunity to play Failan for my career. So I decided to come to Korea", Yin told The Korea Times.

Yin is making her musical debut in "Failan". "There is basically no big difference between musicals and plays. But the working style is a bit different between China and Korea. In a Korean musical, the production process is more interactive between an actor and a director", she said.

Yin began studying at a traditional Chinese dance school at age 12. After five years there, she went on to the Central Academy of Drama, a prestigious drama school in China whose alumni include actress Gong Li.

"Many Chinese women including myself think Korean dramas and films are so romantic. So I longed to come to Korea", she said, citing "Jewel in the Palace" ("Dae Jang Geum") and "Autumn in my Heart" as her favorite Korean dramas.

Before coming to Korea, she said she worried about communicating with Korean actors because she couldn't speak Korean.

"But my Korean co-workers are so friendly and kind to me. And they are so enthusiastic when we are doing rehearsals", she said.

After finishing the musical, Yin wants to explore other genres in Korea if given the chance.

The movie "Failan" was written and directed by Song Hae-seong and adapted from the Japanese novel " Love Letter " by Jiro Asada.

The story revolves around a poor Chinese girl who moves to South Korea hoping to find work after her parents die. To stay in South Korea, she agrees to a paper marriage with a small-time hoodlum, Lee Kang-jae, a man whom she never meets.

Actor Seo Bum-suk will play Kang-jae in the musical.

The musical will open Sept. 11 and will run through Nov. 2 at Eda Theater in Daehangno.
Tickets cost 40,000 won. For more information, call (02) 744-0300.
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Chinese actress Yin You Can, 22, will perform in musical "Failan".

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