Due to the fact I already have the Swedish, Dutch, German, and Spanish language cast albums for Mamma Mia! I was excited to learn that a Korean cast album had been released. Then it became an interesting challenge in getting one. Not only the language barrier with Korean websites, but it also seemed that all the online retailers that listed it were ones that would not ship outside of Korea. I even found a Japanese retailer that had it but they wouldn't ship outside of Japan. Ultimately I found a retailer with great prices and contacted them about carrying the cast album, and they said they would check with their suppliers.

Within a couple days, they notified me that their suppliers did carry it and they also immediately listed it so that I could order it. And in a couple more days I got an e-mail saying my order was on its way. I couldn't ask for an easier process, and within a week of its shipment, the Korean cast album was here in a package that was extremely well packed for international shipment. What a deal.

The information I had read online about the album is that like the German and Dutch cast recordings, the Korean cast recording is a live recording. However, where it differs from the German and Dutch casts is that when I first played it, it was only by the end of "Dancing Queen", seven tracks into the recording, before there seemed to be any sign of an audience present. I was beginning to wonder if the information about it being a live recording was wrong. The expert editing cuts the songs right when they end before the audience has a chance to get any clapping in for nearly all the songs and the clapping of the audience is so muted in the places where it is, that it's so easy to forget they're even there. The cast and orchestra give a flawless performance where no one is coming in too soon or late which further adds to the sense that recording sounds like a studio recording.

As for the performances, they found a really great sounding cast. Both the Korean Donna and Sophie actresses can sing really well. They feel like they are singing each song as if they really were in the situations they're singing about. For me the standout tracks on the Korean cast album are the ones that are mostly forgettable on other cast albums. For example, "One Of Us" and "S.O.S." sound wonderful in Korean and the singing of them are so well done that I actually did sit up and pay more attention to it when listening to the album. These songs in the English productions tend to be the weakest (dare, I suggest, most boring) moments in the show that it feels strange to actually want to hear these songs in the production.

Like the English productions, both "Mamma Mia" and "The Winner Takes It All" are songs where the actress playing Donna has a chance to knock the socks off their audience, and both songs are expertly performed here as well. The Korean Sophie gets her chance to show off her chops in "The Name Of The Game", "Under Attack", and "I Have A Dream."

The songs that seem to be the weakest for this cast are the ones where the English title of the song is incorporated into the song. It's nearly comical how the cast pronounce "Chiquitita", "Super Trouper", and "Queen" in "Dancing Queen." It also seems very out of place to hear the actor playing Harry Bright to speak the title "Thank You For The Music" in English at the very start of the song even though for the actual singing of the song, it's done in Korean. Also I felt the voice of the actress playing Tanya wasn't that good. Normally it's a fun song and here it's just not a standout performance.

Overall, the Korean cast album is a welcome addition to my collection, and I think I probably will be playing it on occasion. At least in terms of song ratings most of them earned higher marks than what I awarded to the original London cast, and as a result are more likely to come up when I make playlists for my iPod on the basis of song ratings.

If you would like to get a copy of the Korean cast recording of Mamma Mia, I would like to highly recommend buying from YesAsia.com. They were extremely helpful when I contacted them about carrying the Korean cast album. Their website is in English and very easy to navigate. They have two versions of their website, one is a global site and the other is specific for the US and Canada. To make it easy to get right to the page for the Mamma Mia Korean Cast recording I have made the following Tiny URLs that will take you to the product page on the website.

At the time of this writing, the price they are charging for the Korean Cast album is $15.99 US (all prices are in US Dollars) which is very reasonable for US buyers, and even better for international buyers due to the very favorable exchange rates. Also there is the opportunity to get free shipping on your order if your order is over certain levels which vary by destination country. And their shipping rates are still very reasonable even if the order doesn't meet the level for free shipping.

Ryan