New York Korean Cultural Center Reopens After COVID-19 Closure

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The New York Korean Cultural Center (Director Jo Yoon-jeung, photo), which had been closed for about five months due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) that struck New York, reopened on the 10th.

Accordingly, Gallery Korea within the New York Cultural Center is once again welcoming visitors to the special folk painting exhibition that opened last March through a reservation system. To mark the reopening, artist An Seong-min unveiled a new work titled 'Munjado,' expressing emotions experienced during the pandemic. The library also resumed meeting readers wishing to read Korean cultural books through a loan reservation service.

The New York Cultural Center's reopening aligns with the recent easing of regulations in New York City, which has led major art institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art to reopen.

The Cultural Center expects visitors to return, as interest in Korean culture continues to grow in the United States despite the COVID-19 situation, fueled by the popularity of K-pop group BTS, the Academy Award-winning film Parasite, and the drama Crash Landing on You.

Even during the closure, the Cultural Center focused on promoting Korean culture through the 'Top 10 Korean Films Online' event, which recorded an average of about 400 daily visitors to the film page alone. The Center was selected as a partner institution of Lincoln Center, sharing various genres of music including creative gugak and K-pop. The online lecture series, which combined expert English commentary and performances on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage and Korea’s National Intangible Cultural Properties into a single video, also received attention.

The New York Cultural Center plans to monitor safety trends following the reopening of major cultural and artistic institutions and will review plans for in-person service operations accordingly.

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