Jeongdong Theater 25th Anniversary Special Forum on Opening Day Next Month, Live Online Broadcast

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Jeongdong Theater will hold a special forum commemorating the 25th anniversary of its opening on July 2nd, streamed online without an audience.

This forum, themed "Jeongdong Theater's Leap and Future," will review the 25-year history of Jeongdong Theater and serve as a platform to gather diverse opinions on expanding Jeongdong Theater's infrastructure for the future. The forum, held at Jeongdong Maru, will be broadcast live online without an audience through Jeongdong Theater's official YouTube channel.

Jeongdong Theater opened on June 17, 1995, and has established a new mission and vision to mark its 25th anniversary this year. Earlier this year, Kim Hee-cheol, CEO of Jeongdong Theater, announced the end of the traditional regular performances that had been operated for the past 20 years, formalized the operation of the Jeongdong Theater arts troupe, diversified performance operation methods, and declared a leap toward becoming a beloved performance venue by accommodating various genres. As expanding Jeongdong Theater's infrastructure has emerged as an essential issue to realize its future value as a performance venue, this special forum will be held to collect diverse opinions from related experts.

The special forum will be conducted in two sessions. The first session, titled "Jeongdong Theater's 25-Year History and the Role of Public Theaters," will feature Jang Ji-young, Culture Department Head and Performance Columnist of Kukmin Ilbo, presenting on "Jeongdong Theater's History and Challenges in the Post-COVID-19 Era," and Son Mi-jung, Head of Performing Arts at the Seoul Arts Center, presenting on "Operational Directions as a Public Theater." The second session, titled "The Future of Jeongdong Theater," will include presentations by Oh Seong-ho, Head of Meta Planning Consulting, on "Jeongdong Theater Reconstruction Direction and Feasibility," and Kim Jong-heon, Professor of Cultural Arts Management at Sungshin Women's University, on "Demand and Expectations for Jeongdong Theater."

The forum chair will be Ahn Ho-sang, Dean of the Graduate School of Performing Arts at Hongik University. After each session's presentations, the presenters and invited panelists will engage in a discussion. Panelists include Song Seung-hwan, Artistic Director of PMC Production Co., Ltd., Jung Ho-bung, Professor at Chung-Ang University College of Arts, Kim Kyu-won, Head of Cultural Research at the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, and Park Dong-woo, Professor at Hongik University Graduate School of Performing Arts.

Kim Hee-cheol, CEO of Jeongdong Theater, stated, "Due to the COVID-19 situation, instead of a grand commemorative event, we will hold a special forum to reflect on Jeongdong Theater's 25-year journey and contemplate its future value. This special forum will replace the commemorative ceremony, and as a performance venue, we want to add meaning to the commemoration through performances. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Jeongdong Theater, the ballerina Kim Joo-won will perform 'Sagunjja_Season of Life' from October 22 to November 8." Ballerina Kim Joo-won previously held her 10th-anniversary performance on the 'Art Frontier' stage at Jeongdong Theater in 2007 and will participate in this 25th-anniversary commemorative performance as well.

The Jeongdong Theater 25th Anniversary Special Forum will be held on July 2nd from 1:30 PM to 4:20 PM for about three hours and can be viewed by anyone through Jeongdong Theater's official YouTube channel.

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