Selected for the 2020 ARKO Selection Playwriting Competition
“They don’t believe what I say. They only believe the records!”

The First Production in the 2026 Picknic Series

Originally selected for the 2020 ARKO Selection Playwriting Competition, Set-Top Box by ARKHE Creative Experiment Group weaves together theatrical insight and playful humor, coming to audiences as part of the NTCK’s special invitational program Picknic. Directed by Kim Sung Cheol, who brings his trademark authenticity to exploring characters, Set-Top Box is an autobiographical work that delves deeply yet lightheartedly into personal experiences. More than simple entertainment, it draws on the director’s unique strength in delivering powerful messages about the essence of human nature, posing funny yet pointed questions about contemporary society, where individuals must constantly prove their own recorded existence.

I’ve got poop inside me!

My stomach is killing me. Is it because of work? Or the wedding that’s just around the corner? Or is it the “poop” I am holding in, unable to let it out? Actually, I know the answer. It’s the set-top box. This is your fault! They say I own a set-top box I have never seen and never had. What I have inside me is a belly full of poop, not a set-top box!

Synopsis

An office worker suffers from unexplained abdominal pain. Overwhelmed by excessive work and the stress of preparing for his upcoming wedding, his condition continues to deteriorate. But the true cause of his pain lies elsewhere, none other than his “set-top box.” A signal is being detected from a set-top box that does not exist in his home, and he is being charged for TV services as a result. Enduring complicated procedures and long waits on automated phone systems, he contacts the telecom company, only to have his complaint dismissed. The company insists that the signal detected from the set-top box is proof enough. His pain shows no sign of easing. A doctor suggests that his stomach and small intestine are packed with food that has remained undigested and hardened over time. As the pain intensifies, his boss’s instructions keep changing, the wedding date draws closer, and the set-top box issue remains unresolved. Exhaustion sets in. He imagines that if he could finally release the poop filling his body, he would feel lighter than ever, as if he could take flight like a bird. Will he be able to soar? And will his set-top box finally stop sending its false signal?

Written and Directed by Kim Sung Cheol

• Artistic Director, Resident Director, and Playwright of ARKHE Creative Experiment Group
• Former Artistic Director of Seoul Theater Festival (2021–2022)

Kim Sung Cheol is a theater director with the ARKHE Creative Experiment Group, dedicated to exploring the essence of human nature and engaging with contemporary issues on stage. Writing and directing his own plays, including A House with a Wooden Porch, Set-Top Box, and Wildflowers, he has developed a distinctive artistic practice that brings together authorship and direction. His theater leaves a lasting impression, opening a space for reflection that continues to resonate with audiences long after the curtain falls.

Major Awards

• Outstanding Production Award, Seoul Theater Festival (2018), A House with a Wooden Porch
• Performance & Theory Award (2015), Cut Off the Ox’s Horns and Run Away Before the Owner Arrives
• Grand Prize and Best Director Award, Young Directors Competition, Miryang Summer Performing Arts Festival (2008), Woyzeck; Beautiful Murderer!

Major Works

A House with a Wooden Porch, Picnic on the Battlefield, Burnt : Hwajeon, Reckon? Reckon!

, Wildflowers, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Cut Off the Ox’s Horns and Run Away Before the Owner Arrives, Woyzeck; Beautiful Murderer!

ARKHE Creative Experiment Group

The origin of all existence, the essence of all things unchanged by time! In Greek, arkhe means “the beginning” or “the first,” signifying the fundamental origin and essence of all things. What is the arkhe of human existence? Of absurd social phenomena? Of the creative act? Of the natural world and cosmic order? In 2008, a group of actors and theater practitioners who shared a vision of exploring these essential questions through theatrical inquiry came together to found ARKHE Creative Experiment Group. The collective’s mission is to persistently investigate the questions that arise from earnest reflection on life and transform them into works of theater.

Major Works

Burnt : Hwajeon, Wildflowers, Our Town, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Reckon? Reckon!, A House with a Wooden Porch, Picnic on the Battlefield, Cut Off the Ox's Horns and Run Away Before the Owner Arrives, Spring of His Majesty, Woyzeck; Beautiful Murderer!