Provided by Show On Company
The original musical ‘Secretly, Greatly:THE LAST’ condenses a decade of craft into pulse-pounding action that will shake the grand theater.
Opening on the 30th at Seoul NOL Theater Daehangno Woori Card Hall, the musical ‘Secretly, Greatly: THE LAST’ returns for its 10th anniversary with overwhelming scale. This run comes back as a 1,000-seat grand-theater version, adding an even more powerful ‘action spectacle’ to its moving narrative
This season, top Korean creatorsdirector Choo Jeong-hwa, music director Heo Su-hyun, and choreographer Kim Byung-jinare joined by newly appointed martial arts director Seo Jeong-ju. Through this, the production intends to reaffirm its reputation as ‘the most beautiful work when it is a musical,’ where drama, showmanship, and realistic action converge. Beyond simply expanding the stage, the team is determined to solidify its identity as an ‘action powerhouse.’
Since its 2016 premiere, the highly polished ‘Secretly, Greatly:THE LAST’ has been loved for a decade and is based on the webtoon of the same name by creator HUN, chosen by 10 million readers. It depicts elite agents of the 5446 special operations unit from North Korea infiltrating a hillside shantytown in the South under the grand mission of national reunification, living in disguise respectively as a neighborhood fool, an aspiring singer, and a high school student.
The most striking change in this 10th-anniversary production, the sixth season, is the scale of the stage. Having grown through small and mid-size venues, the work moves to a grand theater for the anniversary, maximizing the dynamic movement of the actors by making use of the expanded space. A revolving set enhances spatial dimensionality, and an Illusion (Illusion) effect is introduced in the opening, greatly boosting the visual elements. The ensemble numbers and action unfolding on the expanded stage are expected to deliver on-site immediacy as if breaking out of the screen.
Above all, the core of the action this season is visual gratification befitting a grand-theater stage. To perfectly realize the premise of elite agents from special operations unit 5446, martial arts director Seo Jeong-juversed in screen action such as the films ‘Oldboy’, ‘Ajeossi’, and stage action such as the musical ‘Geunaldeul’has joined the team. Expanded into a 17-member grand-theater version, this season raises the density of the action through collaboration between choreographer Kim Byung-jin and martial arts director Seo Jeong-ju.
Dazzling action that combines acrobatics, martial arts, b-boying, and ensemble dance, along with high-difficulty performances, erupts with explosive energy through 11 National Intelligence Service agents. Impactful, hard-hitting action and spectacular show elements generate extreme synergy, and the musical ‘Secretly, Greatly:THE LAST’ is expected to firmly establish itself as a new benchmark for grand-theater action musicals.
On the 13th, producer Juda Culture heightened anticipation by releasing a ‘martial arts performance video’ that captures the live combat practice. In it, the cast of National Intelligence Service agents, including lead·supporting actors, perform high-difficulty movements identical to the actual show, fully conveying the hallmark dynamism and impact of the production. After its release, reactions among audiences included “There is enough reason to watch for the action alone,” further intensifying interest in the upgraded action quality of this season.
With dazzling action distilled from 10 years of know-how and deep emotion, the musical ‘Secretly, Greatly:THE LAST’ is set to renew its ‘legendary season’ once again. Surpassing the webtoon and the film, it will deliver the electrifying catharsis only a musical can provide and is expected to ignite a hot action whirlwind in the performing arts scene in the first half of 2026.
Having moved to a grand theater, the musical ‘Secretly, Greatly:THE LAST’ now armed with even more intense energy and overwhelming performance will run from January 30 to April 26 at Seoul NOL Theater Daehangno Woori Card Hall.
