Invited by the Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF), Wen Xiaoyan—Artistic Director of Sichuan University of Culture and Arts and Head of the International Department of the China Musical Theatre Association—led a delegation to South Korea from 4–8 July. Over five days the team held in-depth talks with Korean partners on talent development, new works, and industry–academia collaboration, securing a slate of concrete agreements. The visit marks another milestone in the university’s global engagement and injects fresh momentum into China–ROK arts-education cooperation.

Top-level dialogue:

Discussing New Models for Cultivating Musical Theatre Talents

During the visit, Artistic Director Wen Xiaoyan sat down with Mr. Bae Sung-hyuk, Chairman of the Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF), for in-depth talks on South Korea’s time-tested model of “government guidance plus market operation” and on strategies for industrializing musical theatre. The delegation also met with renowned Korean performers Seong Gi-hyun and his wife for a focused academic exchange on university curricula, practice-based training systems, and industry talent pipelines.

“Korea’s systematic musical-theatre education provides us with invaluable benchmarks for refining our own industry-integrated programmes,” Wen noted.

Lee Jong-gyu, President of the Korea Musical Theatre Association, applauded China’s recent strides in the field. The two sides reached a three-point agreement:

? establish a permanent reciprocal-visit mechanism to enable faculty exchanges and joint research between the two associations and their universities;  

? provide sustained support for Sichuan University of Culture and Arts to strengthen its musical-theatre programme;  

? select original Chinese productions for the 2026 DIMF stage, propelling Chinese works onto the global platform.

Play observation:

Promoting Cultural Exchange through Art as a Bridge

At this year’s festival, China’s original children’s musical *Panda!* won the “Best Foreign Production” award, underscoring the country’s growing creative influence. The Sichuan delegation also attended standout Korean productions such as *Seol Gong-chan* and *DDUBI* and later met with Daegu’s Vice-Mayor Kim Jeong-ki, Suseong District Chief Kim Dae-gwon, and the creative teams to discuss production models, venue operations, and youth arts-education partnerships.

“Korea’s innovations in subject matter and market segmentation offer fresh direction for cultivating talent within our new liberal-arts framework,” Wen Xiaoyan noted. “We will soon introduce eco-themed and youth-oriented productions into our curriculum to enrich hands-on training.”

Deepen cooperation:

Build an international art education platform

On July 7, Wen Xiaoyan and the delegation attended the 19th Daegu International Musical Festival Awards. At the ceremony, they engaged actively with award-winning teams and global industry peers, strengthening ties and laying the groundwork for deeper collaboration within the international musical-theatre community.

This visit is a key step by Sichuan University of Culture and Arts to advance arts-education collaboration under the Belt and Road Initiative. In recent years, the university has launched joint-training programs with several Korean universities and taken part in multiple China–Korea cultural-exchange performances. Building on the outcomes of this trip, the university will focus next on co-developing original musicals that weave in Bashu cultural elements, expanding stable partnerships with international musical festivals, and creating sustained overseas practice platforms for its students.

Using musical theatre as its medium and education as its bond, Sichuan University of Culture and Arts is actively integrating itself into the global arts-education network. The recent exchange in Korea has not only broadened the international horizons of our musical-theatre program but also laid a solid foundation for long-term China-Korea collaboration across the cultural and creative industries. Moving forward, the university will continue to deepen its distinctive international approach, cultivating artistic talent that embodies both national pride and a global perspective.