Did the Chosun Ilbo Puff Up the “Yodok Story” Story?

A trusted reader in Seoul, Brendan Brown,  is casting doubt on the Chosun Ilbo’s story reporting that “Yodok Story” is a sold-out runway success (see this entry, and this one).  The reader says of the Chosun report:

[I]t’s crap. I got my wife to call today and ask about the availability of seats for the performances before and a[f]ter April 17 and there are many seats available.

A friend of mine who went before I did also said that most of the theatre was empty when he went.

It’s a disappointment, and I certainly wish “Yodok Story” all the best, but I won’t echo a story about which I have serious doubts.  Readers in Seoul, what say you?  You can try to book tickets of your own here.  I’d be interested in hearing what they tell you.

A new report in the Christian Science Monitor also adds this telling detail:

The show finally opened March 15, after finding a new home at the Seoul Educational and Cultural Center, far from the center of town, but still spacious and modern enough to mount the production. The show’s original run will wrap up this weekend, though it may be extended or play in other cities.

Emphasis mine.  Sorry, but I really don’t believe that a runaway success would  play for such a short period of time.  It does appear that “Yodok Story” was starved of oxygen in Korea, and that’s unfortunate.

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So what of the “government pressure” angle?  Just get a load of how far  the government’s position has moved from its previous full-scale denial:

Government officials refuse to confirm or deny charges of pressure to ban the show. For the record, they say they have not seen it and are not interested in doing so.

Nor has Chung Seung-San been completely stoic in the face of that pressure, admitting that  “[w]e toned it down and revised it a lot.”  Hmmmm. 

Kudos to Don Kirk for asking both the government and those behind “Yodok Story” many detailed questions, including about that fishy “kidney” loan.  Chung actually produces a contract(!), which may not prove much of anything, but overall, Kirk does seem to have several people telling him a reasonably consistent story, even as the government backs down from its denial.

I suspect  we haven’t heard the last about this one, but the more I hear, the less I believe anyone.