The 22-year-old Korean American senior wrote “Shimcheong: A Folktale.” It is a full-length musical inspired by a Korean folktale with a decidedly Disney movie vibe. Julia Riew did it as part of her thesis.
Julia Riew poses at Farkus Hall, on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. Obsessed with strong female animated characters, Korean American college student Riew didn't see any who looked like her, so she's designed her own.
Riew has even sparked interest from Hollywood and theater producers, while supporters have taken to creating visuals and animations to help bring her story to life. In Riew’s version, the young Shimcheong spends years growing up in the magical realm before setting out on an epic journey home. Along the way, truths are revealed, obstacles are overcome and there’s no shortage of laughs and catchy songs.
Disney has historically struggled to reflect the diversity of its audience, falling back on stories featuring predominantly white characters and stereotypical depictions of non-white cultures, says Jana Thomas, a media and communications professor at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, who researches social media and has also written about representation in Disney films.
Riew says she's long toyed with the idea of a musical drawing from her Korean heritage but only seriously started working on it after the coronavirus pandemic hit and she ended up moving back home because campus was shuttered.
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