The Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF) is an annual event that take place in Daegu, South Korea. It brings together theater production teams, critics, and music fans from around the world. In addition to showcasing top productions from different countries, the festival also supports various creative projects and scripts, making it an important hub for the creation and growth of musical theater in South Korea. This year marks the 13th edition of the festival, and for the first time, the organizers are collaborating with private organizations to organize guided tours, making the festival even more exciting.
During these lectures, I not only learned about the planning strategies of South Korean arts festivals, how they select programs, and the development of original musicals, but I also found great inspiration in their dedication to nurturing talent. The current director of the Seoul Musical Theater Company shared the history of South Korea's musical theater actor training system with us. Back in the 1980s, the government actively encouraged the establishment of specialized musical theater programs in universities. Today, there are more than 30 universities offering such programs. Each year, more than 1,400 graduates enter the field of musical, where they face tough competition for opportunities in this highly competitive industry.
The competition is really tough, as we've seen in the performances over the past few days. The actors not only look great and sing exceptionally well, but the overall production quality and ambition are truly impressive. South Korea's success in this field might be hard for Taiwan to replicate, but it reminds us, as artists, to remain grounded. We should learn from their achievements and keep work hard to be excellent.
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