How Dongchoon, South Korea's last circus, is fighting to preserve its century-old legacy

South China Morning Post

21-06-2025

No more elephant and monkey acts. No more death-defying motorbike stunts. No more singing or acting on stage.
Several hundred spectators still clapped constantly when acrobats with the Dongchoon Circus Troupe, South Korea's last and oldest
circus , twirled on a long suspended fabric, juggled clubs on a large, rotating wheel, and rode a unicycle on a tightrope under the big top.
'As I recall the hardship that I've gone through, I think I've done something significant,' says Park Sae-hwan, the head of the 100-year-old circus, which was founded in 1925. 'But I also feel heavy responsibility because if Dongchoon stops, our country's circus, one genre in our performing arts, will disappear. That's the problem.'
In the golden ages of South Korean circuses in the 1960s, when most households still had no televisions, Dongchoon travelled across the country. It wowed audiences with then-exotic animals like an elephant and a giraffe and a variety of shows including skits, comic talks, singing, dancing and magic shows. During its peak years, it had more than 200 artists, acrobats and other staff, according to Park.
Park is worried Dongchoon could disappear into history. Photo: AP
Like in many other countries, televisions and films later siphoned audiences away from Dongchoon and other circuses in South Korea. Their actors, singers and comedians moved to television stations, and some became bigger stars.