Musical 'Rent': A Chronicle of Young Artists' Lives, Love, and Loss

A musical 'Rent', which captures the dreams, love, pain, and healing of young artists, is currently captivating audiences. Society often dismisses these individuals as drug-addicted patients or useless villains, but beneath the surface lie souls of unparalleled purity. Among them, 'Mark', the sole survivor, immortalizes his friends' 'Seasons of Love, 525,600 minutes' through his camera, even as they stand on the brink of death.

Time is precious to everyone, but especially to these artists. Gathered in New York's East Village, their remaining time is barely a year. Every second spent together in their cold, dilapidated home, lacking electricity and heating, is cherished. Though 'Mark' is the only one left to witness the final moments, he films an eternal gift for his friends to remember each other.

Returning for its third season after 14 years, 'Rent' features a predominantly new cast, with only a few original members returning. The role of 'Mark', who acts as a narrator for the characters' lives, is now being portrayed by newcomers Jin Tae-hwa and Yang Hee-joon.

'Mark' meticulously divides his year into minutes, capturing every shared moment of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness with his friends on film. But what did 'Mark's camera truly mean to his friends?

During good times, his filming was a source of amusement, but when inconvenient, it became a tool for misunderstanding. As 'Mark' aspired to be a documentary director, his lens often magnified their hardships.

Jin Tae-hwa and Yang Hee-joon, who play 'Mark', recently shared their candid thoughts with Sports Seoul about the common threads and unifying factors in the diverse lives their characters sought to capture. This is the story they wish to convey through 'Mark'.

Jin Tae-hwa remarked, 'During rehearsals, I felt that many of the numbers are deeply addictive. It's easy to think only 'Mark' or 'Roger' is lonely, but the more you delve into the characters, the more you realize everyone is lonely.' He added, ''Rent' is a story about lonely people, whether they are characters in the play, seen from a third-person perspective, or lonely within society. That's why they cry out even more for 'love'.'

Regarding the subjects of 'Mark's' lens, he explained, 'We try to see these lonely aspects through the camera. We can't face them or bear it because we are going through the process of letting them go.' He continued, 'This emotion erupts in the fight scene with 'Roger'. 'Roger' knows we hide behind the camera. It will resonate through the dialogue and songs. I think 'Mark' filmed them because he wanted to hide from their impending farewell.'

Yang Hee-joon stated, 'I think I started with the question of why 'Mark' chose to shoot documentaries instead of other genres. As the lyrics suggest, he feels that the reality his friends face, and the joy, sorrow, and anger they experience, are more bizarre, unrealistic, and heavy than any fabricated story.' He emphasized, 'He didn't just want to capture their beautiful moments; he wanted to capture their dark sides as well.'

The clock, which began ticking on Christmas Eve, has now counted a full year, reaching 525,600 minutes. 'Rent', which evokes memories of past loves and makes us realize the preciousness of the present moment, will be performed until February 25th of next year at the Shinhan Card Artium at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

A hazai rajongók elismerően nyilatkoztak a koreai színészek tehetségéről és a darab mély mondanivalójáról. Sokan kiemelték, hogy a 'Rent' örökérvényű üzenete, a szeretet és az összetartás fontossága minden korban aktuális, és a színészek remekül adták vissza ezt az érzést.