The film first, then the musical

Before seeing the musical The Scent of Chrysanthemums, this reading says, the writer had already seen the film of the same title, itself taken from a book. They wanted to feel, in the theatre, the difference from what they had watched on a screen, and they were curious how the actors would carry the work. That is why they went, and why they set out to say, briefly, what they felt and how it differed from the film.

Seung-u’s wait, and Miju’s diagnosis

The protagonist Seung-u, after waiting a long time for the person he loves, at last has that love as something real. Then, because of Miju’s terminal diagnosis, he ends up waiting even for what he had not waited for. That stretch, they write, gives a brief joy in the time the two spend together after his waiting, and then quickly brings a new trial, and makes one side of the chest ache.

Lines that become song

The feelings the characters have for each other, and their poetic lines, are lifted into lyrics and song, they write, so that the audience can share those hearts more closely. Natural movement and song together, they felt, made the characters’ feeling richer, and helped a more various effect.

This reading leaves the evening at that lifting into song. A longer form of the same Korean report is on CampusDown.

Sources

1. This reading, a student account of the musical The Scent of Chrysanthemums, after the film: Seung-u’s long wait, Miju’s terminal diagnosis, and poetic lines lifted into song.

Last updated: 15 November 2026