On one of Seoul’s hottest summer nights of August, winter arrived at Charlotte Theater.

An hour before the Korean premiere of Disney’s “Frozen,” the theater lobby was already humming with families, couples, friends and solo musical fans. Long lines formed at the merchandise shop and in front of a call board and photo zone featuring a towering ice sculpture and illuminated snowflakes. Children in Elsa capes, sparkling crowns and princess shoes waited patiently beside adults eager to document the long-awaited arrival of the global musical hit.

The sold-out audience came for snow and spectacle. It received both — along with a polished Korean production anchored by powerhouse turns from Jung Sun-ah as Elsa and Park Jin-joo as Anna.

Based on Disney’s 2013 animated film, “Frozen” follows the estranged royal sisters Elsa and Anna. Elsa, terrified that her power to freeze everything around her will hurt those she loves, retreats into isolation. Anna sets out to save both her sister and the kingdom of Arendelle from an endless winter.

The stage musical, which premiered on Broadway in 2018, follows the film’s familiar plot closely while expanding its emotional terrain through additional songs and theatrical effects.

At a July press event, the musical’s creative team described the Korean production as the strongest version of “Frozen” they had seen so far, praising the cast’s vocal power, performance precision and the production’s distinctly Korean energy — and the entire cast, including the young actors playing Elsa and Anna, seemed to validate that assessment.

Its defining moment arrived at the end of Act 1.

As Jung’s Elsa begins “Let It Go,” the theater gave way to something closer to collective awe.

In roughly three minutes, the stage shifted continuously: icy forms rose and receded, dazzling light flooded the auditorium and crystalline structures transformed the stage into Elsa’s glittering refuge.

Jung then made the sequence feel less like a standard showstopper than a booming declaration. As Elsa’s dark costume gave way to the luminous white gown of the Snow Queen, the audience responded with gasps, applause, and when the lights finally went down, a sustained roar. Some shouted, “Jung Sun-ah, I love you!”

Jung’s command extended beyond the signature anthem.

In “Monster,” a rock ballad that gave Elsa a more explicit reckoning with the fear that she may be a monster, she delivered formidable high notes and unwavering dramatic intensity.

The ice palace itself was another visual triumph, constructed through glittering columns and intricately sculpted form that catch and refract the stage lights.

Park, meanwhile, gave Anna a sharply comic and lovely presence.

Known widely through film, television dramas, sitcoms and variety shows, Park has long been a popular fan-casting choice for the spirited Disney princess. Here, she brought the character’s lovably impulsive energy to the stage without flattening herself into comic relief.

Her clear, nimble vocals carried key numbers including “For the First Time in Forever,” “Love is an Open Door” and the musical’s additional song “I Can’t Lose You.” Park’s Anna is excitable, awkward and intensely sincere.

Among the most warmly received performances was Jung Won-young’s Olaf.

The snowman puppet moved with such expressive precision that the theater’s younger viewers —and plenty of adults — seemed to accept him without hesitation as the warm-hearted, walking snowman they had imagined from the film. His comic timing provided a welcome counterweight to the sister’s increasingly fraught journey.

The Korean lyrics, though not always identical to those familiar from the film’s dubbed version, sounded natural and preserved the story’s emotional clarity.

The show made a small adjustment to the film’s sequence of events, but changes were unobtrusive, serving the momentum of a stage musical without disrupting the story audiences know and anticipate.

With Jung, Jung Yu-ji and Min Kyung-ah alternating as Elsa, and Park, Hong Geum-bi and Choi Ji-hye sharing Anna, the production plans to build variety into its long Seoul run.

The musical runs through March 1, 2027, before moving to Dream Theater in Busan next year.