In 2024, Jeong Sun Ah was officially found to be the single most influential female musical actress. At this point, Jeong is a brand unto herself. Shooting star, genius, master of her craft, textbook-perfect, diva, superstar, Beyoncé of Korea, role model, best actress of her generation … Labels like these illustrate just how much status and acclaim Jeong Sun Ah’s talent as a musical actress have won her. She’s also no stranger to being praised for having unparalleled vocal prowess and divine stage presence. And that’s to say nothing of all her awards, including Popular Actress, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Leading Actress. Accolades like these show just how firmly Jeong established herself as an actress during the musical theater explosion in Korea. And she continues to flourish in the public eye today, with several recent projects to her name. In fact, Jeong’s name is inextricably linked with the history of musicals in Korea. She worked with multiple theater production companies on major licensed as well as original shows during the rapid rise in popularity of musicals, performing onstage every year, with the exception of 2020, since getting her start in 2002. Below, we’ll take a look back at the plays and films Jeong Sun Ah has acted in and the roles she’s portrayed to get a sense of who she is as an actress, the significance of Korean musicals, and how she’s evolved over time.
Debut and development
Jeong Sun Ah’s early career began with her debut as Mimi in RENT in 2002, followed by roles such as Liesl in The Sound of Music and Little Sally in Urinetown, ensemble member and understudy for Sophie in Mamma Mia! and Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the showgirl in Gambler. She explored her own acting style under the Seensee Musical Company, as well as for a time with Seol & Company, OD, Yoon’s Color, Janggang, SM ART COMPANY, and others. After progressively brushing up on the basics by performing in premieres of licensed shows under companies rooted in theatrical tradition, Jeong really came into her own through musicals put on by OSMU, idol agencies, and more. She perfected the part of the confident, sexy young woman in roles such as Oh Chelin in the Korean musical Winter Sonata, Soyeon in Haeeohwa and Denise in the Broadway play Tell Me on a Sunday, Carla in Nine and Kira in Xanadu, Lucy in Jekyll & Hyde, Deena Jones in a remake of Dreamgirls, and Constanze Weber in the Viennese musical Mozart!, and proved her commitment to the roles by being the only actress to perform them each and every night.
More than any other type of work, musicals have a knack for exploring characters with extraordinary talents but glaring weaknesses. And, not surprisingly, their protagonists have a wide variety of different occupations, cultural backgrounds, and personalities. Still, just like with other forms of entertainment, musicals tend to pigeonhole their female leads into looking for love as their main motivator. Jeong initially took on roles like someone with AIDS and a young girl uncovering town issues, as well as a TV choreographer, a kisaeng or courtesan for wealthy clientele, a movie star, someone else’s muse, a showgirl, a singer, and Mozart’s wife. With the way all these beautiful, professional characters were so easily taken in by promises of love, there’s no denying they demonstrated the limited characters of the time in which they were written. Despite this, Jeong’s incredible intuition to know just what her characters want and to act on it—plus her ability to make even the most detestable characters likable—garnered her significant attention for her portrayals.
Jeong was just 19 years old when she went in for her first audition. Although she immediately landed herself a leading role, she still took her time to make sure she got plenty of experiences in the foundational principles of acting, singing, and how to command a stage, becoming the kind of actress who audiences will remember forever after seeing her perform just once. Be it Broadway shows, one-woman plays like monodramas, or Austrian musicals, any character’s shoes she stepped into instantly became enthralling. Her early activities ran parallel to the ever-fluctuating world of musicals in Korea, including licensing contracts, foreign producers, the rise of musical production companies, purely Korean musicals and large-scale, experimental original shows. With all the changes happening around her, it was essential that she keep herself rooted through having a firm grasp of the fundamentals of her craft, and the fact that she both held on and flourished during these times was already proof of her skills as an actress.
Captivating characters
The pivotal change for Jeong Sun Ah’s roles came when she portrayed Amneris in Aida in 2010. Having gone in auditioning for the titular lead, she instead agreed to switch her target role and tried again. The result was a massive spike in exposure for Jeong. The number “My Strongest Suit” showcased her skill for punctuating just the right moments in a song with perfect diction and facial expressions, proving herself to be a vibrant but grounded performer and making it an even more greatly anticipated play. After that, the buzz around Aida surged and it went on to have many repeat performances.
Portraying Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls and Eva Perón in Evita, Yeoju in Gwanghwamun Love Song and Princess Yoseok in Song of Two Flowers, and Mary in Jesus Christ Superstar, Jeong took on roles as diverse as an evangelist, a first lady, a princess, and a typical worker, demonstrating deft skill in both imported and original Korean productions, and solidifying her status as a dependable, must-see actress.
Her most iconic role, though, is undoubtedly as Glinda in Wicked. Long a dream of Jeong’s, Wicked saw her step out onto the stage not as Elphaba but as Glinda, with her lively, nuanced performance and the way she drew from the character’s portrayal in the original cast receiving high praise from the international director. The way she so convincingly illustrated just why audiences can’t hate the character, and the bond between women, went on to become hugely influential in how other Korean actresses play the role.
Portraying Lauren in Kinky Boots, Jeong took on one of her most endearingly unrefined roles to date, and though not the biggest part, the part is a true scene-stealer and sets the tempo for the entire musical. Having a blast as she learned how best to harness her energy to keep perfectly in sync with her audience, she added another weapon to her actor’s arsenal.
From 2014 to 2018, Jeong Sun Ah appeared in a series of highly anticipated and celebrated productions, portraying Mina in Dracula and Misa in DEATH NOTE, Rachel in The Bodyguard, Josephine in Napoleon, the titular Anna Karenina, and Josiana in The Man Who Laughs, demonstrating her chops as a female lead, a singer, a historical figure, and an antagonist. During this period, companies like CjeS Culture, CJ MUSICAL, Show Media, Mast Entertainment, and EMK MUSICAL were in fierce competition as they licensed materials from the US, Japan, France, and Russia. Jeong Sun Ah was there all along the way to take on these new challenges, both winning over audiences and becoming a star whose involvement guarantees box-office success, and earning herself titles like “the best Glinda in Korea” and “the Beyoncé of Korea.”
Looking back on Jeong Sun Ah’s work reveals she’s been in two or three productions each year, with no overlap between runs, showing just how often she takes on new projects and roles. Even after a decade of experience onstage, Jeong was diligent about taking on more work for the sake of personal development. In acting in later revivals of Aida, Wicked, and Dracula, she didn’t hesitate to take the characters she had already established and plumb their depths to make the shows more enticing, and made efforts to figure out what it was about each character that best suited her and in what way. Critics were impressed by her capacity to take parts of her previous performances that fell short and turn even those into something refined she could convey through her vocals. The ability to express complicated emotions through song is one of the things that makes musicals special, and Jeong has only continued to improve in this sense over time.
What makes Jeong Sun Ah so captivating regardless of the role she’s playing is her proficiency in the two core tenets demanded of musical actors: strong vocals and acting range. Moreover, all her experience in different performances emphasized to her the importance of the actors on stage propelling the production forward. Though already a top-tier performer by talent and resumé by this point, she was given the opportunity to reflect even further on the importance of such fundamentals as she experienced more and more box-office hits, with such careful thought about how to continue on with a career she loved, and her diligence in putting that into practice, ensuring she would always be on the stage.
Branching out
Jeong Sun Ah became well-known for her approach of completely shedding off a previous character before bringing the next one to life. She’s always been excellent at navigating the delicate balance between singing and acting, as seen in roles such as the complex dubbing work she did in films like the 2018 Disney musical film Mary Poppins Returns. Then, from 2019, she underwent a personal transformation as she studied abroad, got married, and gave birth to her child.
She next returned to the spotlight for her incredibly nuanced performances in If/Then and Memphis, both of which demand realistic performances. She made sure to take care of herself in order to return to the stage after giving birth, and the new emotions she brought to productions in light of having become a mother proved once again her unparalleled level of professionalism. Her efforts were recognized when she won the award for Best Leading Actress at the Korea Musical Awards. As of this year, Jeong Sun Ah is starring as Velma in Chicago, unabashedly showcasing her stage veteran status through acting and through song. While many actresses disappear from the limelight after marriage and childbirth, Jeong’s unwavering commitment to the stage is an exceptionally rare case that itself deserves applause.
Twenty years is nothing to sneeze at. As the 10,000-hour rule dictates, what Jeong Sun Ah gained from burying herself in her craft was a clear sense of her own identity and a career path uniquely her own. In 2021, she tried something utterly new for her by appearing on King of Mask Singer. Per the concept of the show, she went out and competed with her face—and therefore her whole career—completely obscured. There’s a world of difference between singing a musical number and singing a pop song—everything from the vocal style to the arrangements and the overall approach to the song. Add on top of that the instant feedback from a panel—composed not only of singers, composers, and singer-songwriters but also TV hosts, comedians, and more—and the pressure is on. But for her performance as Baby Goat, Jeong won overwhelming approval for her articulation, range of emotion, timing, and improvised fills, winning three times in a row and going viral for her enchanting timbre and especially her high notes. Reportedly the actress took lessons for singing pop songs so she could diversify her vocals even further.
The actress who once worried her own individuality would get in the way of her characters onstage was now looking at King of Mask Singer as the first of many opportunities to challenge herself in a variety of new ways. Now Jeong can be seen channeling her vibrant energy not only in musicals but on TV and in concert as well. Her moving vocals and open heart as she stands onstage give her the power to captivate every audience she performs for, and her branching out has them that much more excited for what new things she might try next.
Ever the professional
As the musical theater scene in Korea heated up in 2002, productions from Broadway to the West End, Czechia, Vienna, Russia, and more were all part of the boom. As noted earlier, Jeong Sun Ah led the way in showcasing that shift through major productions. Her glamorous image, unwavering high notes, and sense of humor all contributed to the ongoing success of the shows. Musical actors act through musical numbers, and Jeong’s strength in this fundamental skill is why she remains a leading figure in major musicals today. She makes sure every show she’s in is worth the price of entry and practices personal discipline and self-care to ensure she shines onstage. And as a result, she’s become a pillar of Korean musicals.
Jeong Sun Ah has talked about her affinity for songs with a hopeful outlook, like “A New Life” from Jekyll & Hyde. She pours love into the roles she takes on, and the audience can feel that without question. Jeong has now spent over half her life on the stage. That ability to convey her passion with such enthusiasm is a precious gift. On top of that, she continues to reach an ever more diverse audience through the media, gala concerts, and more. Safe to say that, at least for the time being, we can rest easy knowing there will be plenty of chances to experience Jeong Sun Ah’s captivating performances.