MBC ‘Radio Star’ broadcast capture

Actor Shin Sung-rok showed off his distinctive wit on MBC ‘Radio Star,’ and he also fulfilled the role of a musical promotion fairy to great effect.

Shin Sung-rok appeared as a guest on MBC ‘Radio Star,’ which aired on the 10th. Currently appearing in the original musical ‘The Man in Hanbok,’ EMK’s tenth original and a production marking the 20th anniversary of the Chungmu Art Center, Shin expressed exceptional affection for the piece, transforming into a promotion fairy and sharing various stories about it while showing off his variety-show flair.

On the show, from his entrance, Shin made his presence felt wearing the costume of King Sejong. He joked, “Benefit the world widely,” and said, “In the original musical ‘The Man in Hanbok’ I appear as Sejong.” In particular, he actively promoted the musical, saying, “K-content is a global topic. We should not do only foreign musicals; we need to make ours known. So I came wearing the outfit myself,” and he emphasized, “Please give a lot of love to the musical ‘The Man in Hanbok’,” piquing curiosity about the work.

Regarding the label ‘Grade-7 civil servant of the musical world,’ he confessed, “Before COVID-19 I mainly did dramas, but since then I have been doing only musicals,” and, “I fell in love with musicals again. Living as a musical actor has become very familiar to me.”

Behind-the-scenes tales from the musical ‘The Man in Hanbok’ were also shared. Shin said, “All the actors play two roles. Since I play two roles, I perform Jin-seok, a PD, and then in the very next scene I appear as the king,” and explained, “I change (clothes) in 40 seconds. Backstage it is almost a war. Five~six people rush in for a quick change. That is the charm of this work.” Having finished his first performance the day before the recording, he also showed confidence, saying, “In musicals, when someone sings well, we say the roof was blown off, and at the first performance the roof flew off. It was a satisfying performance.” Along with this, he shared various episodes from the musical stage and introduced how he handles mistakes, delivering big laughs.

At the end of the broadcast, Shin presented the number ‘Your Own Star’ from the musical ‘The Man in Hanbok’ as a stage that previewed the show. This number is sung when, in the story, Jang Yeong-sil faces execution due to the machinations of Joseon ministers and Sejong goes to the prison himself to save him; containing Sejong’s feelings as he must let Yeong-sil go, it shows the deep friendship of two geniuses that goes beyond a simple monarch-subject relationship. On the live stage, Shin overwhelmed the audience with explosive vocals and immersive facial acting, heightening curiosity about the musical ‘The Man in Hanbok’.

The musical ‘The Man in Hanbok,’ in which Shin is appearing, explores the mystery of Jang Yeong-sil, the greatest scientist of Joseon, and is drawing attention for its original staging where the aesthetics of K-historical drama meet the splendor of European grand epics. Led by executive producer Eom Hong-hyun, director Kwon Eun-ahwho has been active on ‘Mata Hari,’ ‘Mozart!,’ and ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’handles book, lyrics, and direction; Lee Sung-joon (Brandon Lee) of ‘Ben-Hur’ and ‘Frankenstein’ composes and serves as music director; and stage designer Seo Suk-jin of ‘Mozart!,’ ‘Ben-Hur,’ and ‘Frankenstein’ is in charge of the stage design, joining forces.

Park Eun-tae, Jeon Dong-seok, and Go Eun-sung play Yeong-sil, a genius scientist of Joseon, and Kang Bae, a scholar who tracks his memoir; Kai, Shin Sung-rok, and Lee Kyu-hyung play Sejong, who strove for scientific progress for the people and created Hunminjeongeum, and Jin-seok, a broadcast PD who pursues the truth. Notably, every cast member takes on a dual role that traverses past and present, portraying in depth two characters connected across time.

The musical ‘The Man in Hanbok’ runs at the Chungmu Art Center Grand Theater in Seoul through March 8, 2026.