College Student's Korean Musical Becomes Popular Online

For her final college project, known as a senior thesis¹, Harvard University student Julia Riew wrote a full-length musical that has become popular on social media.

The 22-year-old Korean American student has been releasing parts of the musical, which is inspired by a Korean folktale, on TikTok. The short videos that show her changing into a princess have quickly gotten a strong following.

Supporters have taken to creating visuals and animations³ to help bring her story to life.

Riew has even gotten attention from Hollywood and theater producers.

"It honestly still feels like I'm dreaming," she said recently. "It's been heartwarming to see the reaction, especially among the Korean American community."

Heartwarming is a term that means causing pleasant feelings or happiness.

TikTok

Riew hopes the musical follows the same path of other musicals that have had success on TikTok in recent years.

"Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical" was released in 2020 as a concert for charity after the idea developed for months on the social media platform. It had Adam Lambert, Wayne Brady and other stars.

Last year, the female group known as Barlow & Bear became popular on TikTok with a song inspired by the Netflix show "Bridgerton." That led to "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical," a 15-song album that is now up for a Grammy award.

The interest and attention that Riew has received has led her to believe that the musical may become a film or a stage production.

"It seems at this point the project will be moving forward," she said. "Not sure yet if that means as a stage production, as an indie film or something else, but there definitely has been some interest."

"I felt like I was a fake⁴ Korean"

Riew's musical draws on the Korean folktale "The Blind Man's Daughter," about a young woman who tries to restore her blind father's sight, but ends up in the distant Dragon Kingdom.

In Riew's version, young Shimcheong spends years growing up in the magical realm before setting out on a journey home. Along the way, truths are revealed, problems are solved, and there's no shortage⁵ of laughs and fun songs.

If that sounds like many of Disney's most famous works, that's the point, says Riew, who grew up listening to Disney and Broadway songs. She began writing her own songs and musicals at a young age.

"What stood out to me is that it's a story about a young woman who goes on an adventure," she explains. "There aren't too many stories in Korean folklore⁶ about women, especially ones where they go on adventures."

Riew says she's long considered the idea of a musical drawing from her Korean heritage⁷, but only seriously started working on it after the coronavirus pandemic hit. She ended up moving back home because campus was closed.

Riew admits she struggled at times to write the story and questioned if it was right for her, as a third-generation Korean American, to tell it.

"There were moments where I tried to quit, when I felt like I was a fake Korean," she said. "But I realized over the process that we can only really represent our own story, and that's totally okay. There's no such thing as one way to be Korean."

The TikTok videos have not just helped create attention for the project, they have also helped her develop and change it.

Riew says she changed the character of Lotus, Shimcheong's friend and the story's comic relief, from a dragon to a nine-tail fox from Korean folklore. This change was based on helpful messages from supporters.

"It's been reinvigorating," she said of putting out her work to the sometimes critical eye of social media. "It's been eye-opening to realize how many people would love to see this come to fruition."

Words in This Story

folktale – n . a traditional story

animation² – n. a way of making a movie by using a series of drawings, computer graphics⁸, or photographs of objects (such as puppets or models

album – n. a long musical recording⁹ on a record, CD, etc., that usually includes a set of songs

indie – adj. not connected with or created by a major producer of music or movies

version – n. a form of something that is different in some way from other forms

campus – n. the area and buildings around a university, college, school, etc.

character – n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show

1 thesis   

n.论题，论点，论文

参考例句：

• His thesis is being finished off.他的论文快写完了。
• He argued his thesis well.他为他的论点进行了有力的辩论。

2 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

3 animations   

n.生气( animation的名词复数 )；兴奋；动画片；（指电影、录像、电脑游戏的）动画制作

参考例句：

• You'll see your team cheerleaders and mascot performing new animations as well. 你会看到啦啦队队长跟吉祥物也都会有全新的动作。 来自互联网
• Ability to create simple movie and animations using graphic & multimedia software. 能够用平面和多媒体软件制作简单的电影及动画。 来自互联网

4 fake   

vt.伪造，造假，假装；n.假货，赝品

参考例句：

• He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
• You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。

5 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

6 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

7 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

8 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

9 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。