Plays Surge While Musicals Slow Down? | Chartlog 2026 First-Half Performance Review | Curtain Call Special

Which performances opened audience wallets in the first half of this year?

Curtain Call and Artlog are launching a new joint series, Chartlog. While Curtain Call has spent each week listening to the stories of artists on stage, Chartlog turns its attention toward the audience. Based on ticket sales data accumulated in the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS) by the Korea Arts Management Service, we aim to read what is actually happening in the South Korean performing arts scene each month through numbers. We examine the trends in the performing arts industry confirmed not by intuition or word of mouth, but by data, along with the stories hidden behind those numbers.

The first episode is a review of the first half of 2026. Together with Cho So-hyun, head of the Performance Information Team at the Korea Arts Management Service, we look at performances that climbed to the top of the KOPIS charts by genre—including musicals, plays, classical music, dance, and traditional Korean music—and discuss which productions drew audiences and why. We also selected highly anticipated works to watch out for in the second half of the year.

※ Data Source: Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS) by the Korea Arts Management Service, collection period Jan. 1 – Jun. 30, 2026

(Hosted by Kim Soo-hyun, Senior Culture Reporter, and Kim Young-욱, Culture Weekly Producer | Guest: Cho So-hyun, Team Leader at the Korea Arts Management Service | Recording & Filming: Yu Gyu-yeon | Editing: Kim Young-욱, Jeong Yonghee | Directed by Kim Young-욱)

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