Seoul City Theater Debuts Big Mother Under New Artistic Director Lee Junho
Seoul City Theater, a municipal troupe under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, has unveiled its first production under new artistic director Lee Junho. On March 12, the company hosted a round-table interview at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul to discuss the upcoming show, Big Mother.
Big Mother reimagines a contemporary power dynamic in which politics, media, and big data fuse to shape public perception. Based on the work of French playwright Melody Mure, the thriller centers on a team of investigative journalists in New York pursuing a major exposé, only to confront a reality where “truth” is increasingly defined by who controls and manipulates information.
Lee Junho explained his selection as a deliberate choice to pair broad audience appeal with timely themes. He said the play tackles how information can be weaponized in the era of big data and algorithms, and that modern media environments have grown accustomed to following their digital “instruction,” a topic he believes Koreans and international audiences alike should revisit.
The production’s cast features veteran acting talent. Cho Han-cheol and Yoo Seung-ju share the role of the veteran journalist and New York editor Owen, while Lee Kang-uk and Kim Se-hwan play the relentless investigator Cook. Shin Yun-ji is cast as Julia, a central figure balancing emotion within the investigation. The ensemble also includes Best Newcomer laureates from recent Korean theater awards, such as Choi Ho-young and Jo Su-yeon.
Big Mother is scheduled to run March 30 through April 25 at Sejong Center’s M Theatre in Seoul. The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, one of Korea’s largest performing-arts venues, hosted the press event, which alongside the cast and director included Sejong Center president An Ho-sang.
For U.S. readers, the production matters as a window into how Korean theater is engaging global issues. The play’s core concerns—how media, politics, and data-driven systems influence truth, consent, and public opinion—mirror debates around misinformation, data governance, and algorithmic influence increasingly observed in American society. The collaboration also signals Seoul’s role in curating internationally relevant art that can travel beyond Korea, offering potential cultural and educational exchanges that resonate with global audiences and policymakers alike.