The rock musical "Line One" set a landmark in Korean theater history as it celebrated its 1,000th performance Sunday at the Hakchon Blue Theater in Taehangno, Seoul.Sunday's special concert featured an all-star cast of both current and previous cast members.

To celebrate the occasion, Uwe Schmelter, director of Goethe-Institut in Seoul, playwright Volker Ludwig, Birger Heymann, who composed the original score and actor Thomas Arens, who appeared in all 936 concerts of the German original since 1986, attended both Saturday and Sunday's performance. They also attended the reception after the landmark concert.

The ambitious musical created by former folk rock singer Kim Min-gi, based on Ludwig's "Linie 1-Das Musikal," made its debut May 14, 1994. The work was converted into a uniquely Korean context and was revised six times.

The musical set a new standard in Korean musicals with live music, small theater concerts and the use of multimedia videos.

It also marked the first time in Korean musical history that one musical was performed by the same group, Hakchon, in the same theater for such a long period. It had once been staged for 11 straight months.

A total of 66 musical actors and actresses and 20 musicians have worked during the 1,000 performances. In "Line One," a performer plays as many as eight different roles.

Sunday's concert also gained attention from the German press as it is the first German work to be performed more than 1,000 times outside of Germany.

The movie version of the "Linie 1-Das Musical," made in Germany, was also shown from Friday to Sunday.

The characters in the musical, which is a satire of everyday Korean soci ety, are diverse, and include people like a pickpocket, bogus radical student, salaryman, soldier, nun and janitor.

The musical, translated, arranged and produced by Kim, views the city of Seoul through the eyes of "Fairy," an ethnic Korean woman from Yenbian, China.

The stage is Seoul's subway line No. 1 and nearby areas of the stops including Seoul Station and 588, a notorious red-light district.

Unlike line No. 3, which passes through some of the most affluent areas of Seoul, line No. 1, the oldest among all the subway lines, symbolizes the common life of the capital city.

The story has "Fairy" going to Seoul after she hears about it from "Swallow," a gigolo. But Swallow's words prove false as she finds Seoulites to be a desperate, unsatisfied lot.

The story has been changed to cope with a changing society.

When the confrontation of ideology between the two Korea's became outdated, the character of "Glasses" had to be changed from a student activist to a worker who was laid off and pretends to be a radical. And a student who used to carry a pager five years ago now totes around a cellular phone.

Even without a major star, the musical has attracted more than 180,000. Since adding English subtitles last year, many foreigners also came to see the concert, according to Hakchon.

Founded by Kim in 1991, Hakchon did other musicals such as "Bloody Brothers," "Kaettongi" as well as a rock musical version of "Moskito '99," which is based on Ludwig's "Die Moskitos sind da" last year. The musical is scheduled to return April 22 and the album is to be released next month.

Meanwhile, "Line One" runs until April 2 every day except Mondays.
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