PNU Small Theater Reopens with Daehak-ro Plays
The newly renovated 180-seat theater at PNU is hosting acclaimed comedies, horror plays and musicals from April 2025 to February 2026, transforming the campus into a hub for cultural engagement.
The small theater located within Pusan National University’s (PNU) Hyowon Cultural Center has been newly renovated and now hosts a series of acclaimed plays from Seoul’s Daehak-ro theater district.
On April 10th, NC Department Store’s PNU branch, which co-operates the Hyowon Cultural Center, announced that starting from April 12th, 2025 till February 2026, the 180-seat theater on the 6th floor will be regularly staging theatrical performances. The lineup that has received positive reviews in Daehak-ro, such as: “Joltan-style Comedy” (A comedy play), “Two Women” (A horror play), and “What If” (A musical) will be staged three to six times per week.
The small theater remained unused following the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the NC Department Store, the theater was used from 2012 to 2018 for regular children’s performances aimed at family audiences, and in 2019 for occasional events. However, those uses ceased in 2020 due to the pandemic. Lee Jung-Hoon, the team leader at NC Department Store’s PNU branch, said, “After using the theater for internal events in 2024 and receiving positive feedback, we felt it was a waste to leave the space idle. So, we decided to officially start hosting regular theatrical performances starting 2025.”
The renewed use of the small theater turned it into a cultural venue not only for the campus community but also for local residents. Lee Young-Soo, the director at Lee Soo Entertainment who is in charge of planning these performances, said, “When performing in Daehak-ro, I often saw college students coming from regions like Busan and Daegu,” adding, “I wanted to make performances more accessible to people in the regions, which encouraged me to bring the shows to Busan.” He also mentioned that the production team is considering involving local youth in the performance production including staff recruitment.
The first play, “Joltan-style Comedy,” premiered on April 12th and will run until August 31st, with 80-minute shows scheduled three to six times a week. The play structured in an omnibus format with five separate episodes is produced by the comedy team “Zoltan,” composed of comedians Lee Jae-Hyung, Jung Jin-Wook, and Han Hyun-Min—former members of SBS comedy programs.
Reporter Hwang Ju-Won
Translated by Thadar-Soe