Sejong Center Wins Germany's iF Design Award, First Korean Performance Venue to Receive Honor

Musical Play 'Geukjang Ap Doknipgun', Commemorative Product 'Memory Box of Goryeoin' Produced

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Sejong Center for the Performing Arts announced on the 6th that it won an award in the Communication & Branding category at the German international design competition 'iF Design Award 2020' for the performance branding campaign of the musical play 'Geukjang Ap Doknipgun' (The Independence Fighters in Front of the Theater), becoming the first domestic performance venue to receive this honor.

The iF Design Award, established in 1953 by the International Forum in Germany, comprehensively evaluates entries across seven categories including product, packaging, communication, and concept. This year, out of 7,298 submissions from 56 countries, a total of 1,453 works were selected.

The awarded work is a commemorative product for the play Geukjang Ap Doknipgun. The 'Goryeoin Memory Box,' planned as part of the performance branding campaign for the production, carries the meaning of remembering the Koreans forcibly relocated to the Maritime Province in 1938 and commemorating their chronicles and history of resistance.

Geukjang Ap Doknipgun is a musical play that premiered last September at the Sejong Center's Grand Theater. For the first time in the 41 years since the opening of Sejong Center, all nine affiliated arts groups participated. The work commemorates the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government last year and the 100th anniversary of the victory at the Battle of Bongodong this year, focusing on portraying the human side of General Hong Beom-do, an independence activist who led the victory at the Battle of Bongodong.

Kim Sung-kyu, president of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, said, "Going forward, Sejong Center will continue to present differentiated and artistically valuable content in various ways so that Seoul citizens can enjoy high-quality culture and arts."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.