National Theater Company of Korea’s newly appointed director and artistic director Park Jeong-hee has an ambitious vision to create a Korean repertoire for performances overseas.

Park began her three-year term in April. She held her first press conference Tuesday at the Myeongdong Theater in Seoul, where she talked about her vision and blueprint for the state theater company.

“While foreign directors have often worked with NTCK, our company has rarely showcased its own productions abroad, except for ‘The Orphan of Zhao’ (performed in Beijing in 2016),” Park said. “We will actively develop new repertoire with overseas expansion in mind."

To facilitate this vision, NTCK is recruiting a producer to lead international exchanges and intends to incorporate international collaboration from the planning stages of new productions. The company will continue to work with international creative and production teams as well.

Another key element of Park's strategy is to revitalize Myeongdong Theater.

Park aims to increase the number of annual productions from the current five to six, to eight to 10, thereby raising the theater's utilization rate from 60 to 80 percent this year and 90 percent next year. The use of the theater dropped significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic but rebounded to 63 percent this year.

To maximize the use of the theater, NTCK plans to invite outstanding productions from private theater companies to perform during the summer and winter seasons.

Recognizing the theater's prime location in a tourist hub, NTCK is also developing strategies to attract foreign audiences.

“Myeongdong Theater and the National Theater of Korea have the potential to become major tourism resources. We will discuss with the Culture Ministry ways to include our performance venues in tour itineraries.”

NTCK offers English subtitles for full productions on Thursdays and Sundays to accommodate international visitors.

Next year, NTCK will expand its venues to include the National Theater of Korea on Namsan -- marking a return 15 years after relocating to Seogye-dong when it transitioned from an affiliated company of the National Theater of Korea to an independent foundation. NTCK will present one production each at the Haeoreum and Daloreum theaters.

Beyond these strategic initiatives, Park is committed to enhancing the quality of NTCK's offerings. The company plans to support original playwriting through artist discovery programs and increase the number of relaxed performances that would make the theater more accessible to a wider range of people.

"Watching a play is like reading a good book. We will present works that pose fundamental questions about humanity and theaters.”

Park, born in 1958, has led the theater company Punggyeong since 2001, studied theater at Goethe University in Frankfurt, and has received acclaim for productions such as "The Permanent Way," "Maids" and "Lee Yeong-nyeo." She is the second female director to lead NTCK since its founding in 1950.