Musical 'Rent' Returns: 'Mark's' Camera Captures 525,600 Minutes Amidst Life and Death

The musical 'Rent,' which depicts the dreams, love, pain, and healing of young artists, has made its return.

Though society may label them as addicts or useless, these characters possess souls purer than anyone else.

Among them, 'Mark,' the only one destined to survive, captures his friends' 'Seasons of Love, 525,600 minutes' on his camera, even on the brink of death.

For the artists gathered in New York's East Village, time is a luxury they barely have, with only a year left. Every moment spent together in their cold, dilapidated home, without electricity or heat, is precious.

Returning for its third season after 14 years, 'Rent' features a largely new cast. The role of 'Mark,' who acts as a narrator for the characters' stories, is now being performed by the newly joined Jin Tae-hwa and Yang Hee-jun.

Jin Tae-hwa, playing 'Mark,' shared, "The characters in the play, and also from a third-person perspective, are people who are lonely socially. That's why they cry out for 'love' even more."

Yang Hee-jun added, "I started with the question, 'Why did Mark choose to film a documentary?' Because he felt that the reality his friends faced, their joy, sorrow, and anger, were more bizarre, surreal, and heavy than any fabricated story."

'Rent,' which makes us reminisce about past loves and realize the preciousness of love in the present moment, will be performed until February 25th of next year at the COEX Shinhan Card Artium.

Netizens are reacting with mixed emotions of sadness and deep empathy for the story told through Mark's perspective. Comments like "Mark hiding behind the camera, I could feel his pain and started crying," and "The impact of 525,600 minutes is truly profound" are flooding in.