How To See A Nanta Show in Seoul

Are you looking for a unique experience while you’re traveling or staying in Seoul? While there are so many great and wonderful places to explore, nothing beats sitting down to see a Nanta show in a theater to be entertained by traditional Korean samulnori music as you enjoy a nonverbal performance and music made with every day household items like pots and pans.

Related: 50 Things To Do in Seoul

Table of Contents

What is a Nanta Show?

Glad you asked. This is a performance uses only kitchen utensils and body language. If you’re worried you will not enjoy the performance because you don’t speak the language, don’t be. The actors use a lot of nonverbal communication and when they do speak, it’s jibber jabber and super easy to understand. Since the show is a comedy, you’ll definitely be laughing. I know there were quite a few times I was ugly laughing.

While I was watching the show, I was completely mesmerized by the creativity. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine music could be made from normal everyday items you find lying around in a kitchen. The actors were making music from knives, pots, pans, spatulas, and brooms. You name it, they made ordinary extraordinary.

The roles played were the sexy male chef, the nephew of the director who is a class clown, the beautiful female chef, and the head chef. If you’re interested in going, book your experience here.

Nanta Show — Photo courtesy of PMC Production

The Story

So you’re not completely surprised going in, the story of the show is about 4 chefs who have to prepare food for a wedding reception by 6pm. While they prepare the food, they partake in hilarious endeavors like chopping vegetables, making soup, and a wedding cake.

I love how they got the audience involved and I was even invited on stage by the sexy guy to take part in the soup tasting for a wedding ceremony. While trying the soup, they did slow motion theatrics. As a public personality and a teacher, I have no problem getting up on the stage in front of loads of people.

There were also parts of the show where the audience was selected to make Korean dumplings, pull the head chef out of the trash can, and even do a clap along.

Related: 20 Things To Do During Rainy Season in Seoul

Nanta Seoul Theaters

In Seoul, there are two theaters located in two tourist hotspots so someone will definitely know where they are if you get lost. I went to the Myeongdong Theater and had a pretty great time.

Nanta Myeongdong Theater Showtimes

Monday to Friday: 5pm / 8pm
Saturday and Sunday: 2pm / 5pm / 8pm

Nanta Hongdae Theater Showtimes

Monday to Friday: 8pm
Saturday, Sunday, Holidays: 2pm / 5pm

Recommendations

I recommend to get there at least 20 minutes early. That way you have time to collect your ticket, use the toilet, get some snacks, and put your valuables in a locker.

Definitely do not go to this show hungry because there’s a lot of food being flung around and you might feel yourself getting hangry. Fun fact, because it’s Korea, you can also take photos in the main lobby where there are photo zones.

Related: The Top 5 Traditional Korean Experiences

Nanta is definitely a show for the entire family and great for all ages. Random fun fact, I had actually never heard of a Nanta show until recently when I was self studying for my Korean class. At first, I thought it was completely ridiculous, but now I see it’s far from that. It’s a masterful work of art and executed by top professionals. I would definitely go back and experience the show again.

If you’re interested in taking part of this quirky experience, book your tickets here and save!

How To Get There

Myeongdong Nanta Theater Address: 3F, 26 Myeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Telephone Number: 02-739-8288
Naver Map: http://naver.me/xRMj6dZJ

Hongdae Nanta Theater Address:
B2, 29, Yanghwa-ro 16-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Telephone Number: 02-739-8288
Naver Map: http://naver.me/FhIaqqyt

Gina Bear was invited to experience the Nanta Show in Myeongdong. As always, all thoughts and opinions remain my own. In addition, this blog post contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase through me, at no additional cost to you, I make a small comission to keep Gina Bear’s Blog running.