National Cultural and Arts Facilities Closed for 2 More Weeks to "Prevent COVID-19 Spread"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jong-gil] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 4th that it will extend the closure period of its affiliated national cultural and artistic facilities for an additional two weeks until the 22nd to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The facilities with postponed public operations include the National Museum of Korea, thirteen regional museums (Gyeongju, Gwangju, Jeonju, Daegu, Buyeo, Gongju, Jinju, Cheongju, Gimhae, Jeju, Chuncheon, Naju, Iksan), the National Folk Museum, the Museum of Korean History, four National Hangul Museums (Gwacheon, Seoul, Cheongju, Deoksugung), and three National Central Libraries (Seoul, Sejong, Children and Youth), totaling twenty-four museums, art galleries, and libraries under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Five national performance institutions are also participating, including the National Theater of Korea, National Gugak Center (Seoul, Busan, Jindo, Namwon), Jeongdong Theater, Myeongdong Art Theater, and the Asia Culture Center.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Seven national art groups, including the National Theater Company of Korea, National Ballet Company, National Opera Company, National Contemporary Dance Company, National Chorus, Seoul Arts Troupe, and Korean Symphony Orchestra, will suspend performances until the 22nd.

These institutions initially planned to close or suspend performances until the 8th following the elevation of the COVID-19 alert to the ‘serious’ level on the 23rd of last month. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official explained the extension by saying, “Even after the first closure measure, confirmed cases continued to increase,” and “We judged that additional closures and performance suspensions were inevitable.” The official added, “Decisions on reopening national cultural and artistic facilities and resuming performances by national art groups after the 23rd will be made based on the trend of COVID-19 spread.”

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