'Yumi's Cells' Musical Arrives With Tiffany Young in Lead: 'The Stage Is Nothing Like the Drama'

Actors Choi Jae-rim (from left), Tiffany Young, director Yang Jung-ung, and actors Kim Ye-won, Kim So-hyang and Jung Taek-woon pose at a press presentation for the musical "Yumi's Cells" held at 1975 Theater in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

With 3.5 billion cumulative views, "Yumi's Cells" has conquered webtoons and three seasons of television drama. Now it is stepping onto the musical stage — with Girls' Generation's Tiffany Young as its lead and a full roster of star performers and creative talent in tow. Five years in development, the production is finally set for its premiere.

Based on the webtoon of the same name by writer Lee Dong-gun, "Yumi's Cells" is an established super IP. The original webtoon drew a wide following before being adapted into a drama series starring actor Kim Go-eun in 2021, which became a hit on streaming platforms. Season 3 dropped in April this year. Having expanded across webtoons, drama series and theatrical animation, the one territory the IP had yet to claim was the musical stage. The production is a collaboration between performance company SamCompany and Studio N, the screen-adaptation subsidiary of Naver Webtoon. The two companies spent five years condensing the original 512-episode source material into a 150-minute show.

Director Yang Jung-ung, one of the theater world's most celebrated names, said bringing the property to the stage was no easy task. "It was already an outstanding work as a webtoon and a drama series, so presenting it as a musical was a genuine challenge," he said. "We will use the mechanisms unique to performance — music, dance and the stage itself — to create a new kind of fantasy."

His approach centers on narrative reconstruction rather than faithful reproduction. "The original material is so vast, but in the musical we shaped the scenes around the story of Yumi and Woong," Yang said. In place of a straight adaptation, the creative team built the show's dramatic spine around an original character called Cell 109, which does not exist in the source webtoon. "In the drama series, the cells' reactions were shown through animation, but on our stage those reactions appear live and immediately," Yang said. "The way they blend organically is something only the stage can do."

Cell 109, created exclusively for the musical, is the production's central device — a mysterious figure absent from the original webtoon who helps Yumi grow from within. While all other cells wear blue costumes, Cell 109 alone appears in white. Through this character, the creative team aims to build a self-contained narrative that can draw in audiences with no prior knowledge of the webtoon. The role is shared by Choi Jae-rim and Jung Taek-woon.

"Cell 109 is upbeat, full of energy and fearless," Choi said. "I've played a lot of heavy roles, so it's been a while since I've had a lively character this close to my own personality — I'm really enjoying it." He added that Cell 109 is the only character in the show without a name. "The audience will watch the process of finding that name and purpose," he said.

Jung Taek-woon described the character as one whose growth extends beyond itself. "Cell 109 has the power to grow not just on its own, but together with everyone around it," he said.

True to its title, the musical's heart is Yumi herself. The role that actor Kim Go-eun brought to life on screen is now shared by Tiffany Young and Kim Ye-won.

"The musical script is completely different from the drama series," Tiffany Young said. "I enjoyed both the webtoon and the drama and drew on them as sources when I needed to, but what I want audiences to see is Yumi's journey as it unfolds on stage."

She said her decision to take the role came after deep immersion in the source material. "I researched everything from the webtoon to the drama, and as I went through it I fell in love with Yumi," she said. "Her very first line is 'An ordinary 32-year-old office worker' — finding the glamour and the extraordinary within that ordinariness is the challenge I've set myself."

Kim Ye-won took a more analytical approach to the character. "In the original and the drama, Yumi is drawn as an everyday person, but if you play her exactly that way the energy on stage can fall flat," she said. "I tried to put more force into the expression and push the energy higher. Because you're so alive and moving on stage, more technique has to go into it."

Kim So-hyang and Yuria are cast as the Love Cell. Kim So-hyang, one of the musical world's leading performers, said the role offered a rare change of register. "I've spent so much time playing great, intense women — suffering, dying, crying. The head of SamCompany told me it was time to show who I really am," she said. "This is my chance to let out the playful, bright and cheerful side that lives inside me." On the Love Cell itself, she said: "She has an overwhelming influence, but she's not perfect. She goes through a great deal, and her encounters with Cell 109 become a two-way exchange."

The creative team is equally high-profile. Kim Sung-su, who contributed to the music for Netflix's "Squid Game," serves as music director, with Choi Jae-gwang handling composition and Kim Ga-ram writing the book. The official poster was created by visual artist Yoshida Yuni, a 2024 Clio Awards winner. Yang and Yoshida had previously collaborated on the stage production of "Macbeth."

"We will deliver something worthy of both fans of the original and fans of musicals," Yang said. "We will work to make this a musical that represents Korea." The show opens June 30.

shee@heraldcorp.com