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Woman writes entire musical after realising that there were no Korean Disney princesses

Woman writes entire musical after realising that there were no Korean Disney princesses
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Representation matters, and when Julia Riew noticed that there weren't any Koreans in the myriad of iconic Disney princesses, she decided to make it happen in her own way.

The 22-year-old Julia Riew create her own Korean Disney princess along with an accompanying musical, because which princess adaption would be complete without one?

The Harvard student, who has been writing and composing for years, shared her musical on TikTok with the rest of the world.

In her seventh full musical to date, "Shimcheong: A Folktale," she tapped into her Korean roots to create the heartwarming musical.

"There was no Korean Disney princess so I decided to make my own :)," she captioned her video.

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There was no Korean Disney princess so I decided to make my own :) #disney #korean #koreanamerican #disneyprincess #musical #originalsong #originalmusical #musicaltheatre #theater #music #newsong #dreamworks

@juliariew

There was no Korean Disney princess so I decided to make my own :) #disney #korean #koreanamerican #disneyprincess #musical #originalsong #originalmusical #musicaltheatre #theater #music #newsong #dreamworks

There was no Korean Disney princess so I decided to make my own :) #disney #korean #koreanamerican #disneyprincess #musical #originalsong #originalmusical #musicaltheatre #theater #music #newsong #dreamworks

The first song she shared titled "Dive," has garnered almost a million views, with people on the social media platform joining in and sharing their own renditions with karaoke versions.

"Now all of the fish in the sea can't stop me/All of the waves in the world can't rock me. I'm on a mission and gee, just watch me go!" Riew sings. In addition to perfectly fitting Disney vibe and music, Riew also uses a filter to transform herself into an animated character that resembles those in Disney.

In various videos on her page, Riew shared more information about her musical, including the plot and the villain she has created for the story.

Bonus fact: I almost gave up on this story at least three times before I was finally able to finish my current draft on December 31st, 2021, at 11:30PM…it’s been my most challenging and most rewarding project yet and I’m so excited for y’all to see it! 🥰🇰🇷🇺🇸

@juliariew

Bonus fact: I almost gave up on this story at least three times before I was finally able to finish my current draft on December 31st, 2021, at 11:30PM…it’s been my most challenging and most rewarding project yet and I’m so excited for y’all to see it! 🥰🇰🇷🇺🇸

Bonus fact: I almost gave up on this story at least three times before I was finally able to finish my current draft on December 31st, 2021, at 11:30PM…it’s been my most challenging and most rewarding project yet and I’m so excited for y’all to see it! 🥰🇰🇷🇺🇸

According to CNN, "The musical tells the story of a brave young woman named Shimcheong who falls into the depths of the ocean while trying to save her father. She enters the magical Dragon Kingdom with seemingly no way out. Ten years later, she plots an escape, risking it all to find her way home. It's not until the end of the story that the strong-willed Shimcheong earns the title of princess, and like any good fairytale, this one is filled with adventure, a prince and a villainous Dragon Queen."

"For the first time, I have felt such a strong sense of community and belonging, which I've always really longed for," she told the outlet.

She continued, "I never imagined that something like TikTok... could bring me to a place where I feel such a warm sense of belonging."

The musical is an adaptation of the Korean folktale "The Blind Man's Daughter," in which a daughter sacrifices everything for her blind father whom she loves dearly.

We don't know about you, but we're eager to see this come to life!

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