Old Dobong Fire Academy Reborn as 'Ssiar Vacation Camp'

1st Floor 'Cultural City Hall', 2nd Floor 'Art Hall', 3rd Floor 'Community Space C.R.O' Created... 'Awakening Closed Facilities through Cultural Regeneration' 'Dobong, a Respectful Cultural City Created by C.R.O' 'Art for Recovery: Stories of Dobong People' Various Exhibitions Continue

District Mayor Lee Dong-jin of Dobong-gu Visits Construction Site During Vacation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Dobong Cultural Foundation (Dobong District Mayor Lee Dong-jin) has transformed the old fire school within the long-dormant Dobong Fire Station into a cultural space called ‘Ssi-al Banghakgan’.

‘Ssi-al Banghakgan’ is a space created as a cultural city hub from the perspective of cultural urban regeneration, utilizing a total of 19 rooms (1089㎡) on the 1st and 2nd floors of the old fire school, which had remained idle, and part of the 3rd floor of the special rescue team.

The name ‘Ssi-al Banghakgan’ combines ‘Ssi-al,’ meaning the residents themselves, the address ‘Banghak-dong’ in Dobong-gu, and ‘Bangatgan,’ a traditional local community facility in the old neighborhood, symbolizing the gathering of local culture and the realization of the value of a cultural city.

‘Ssi-al Banghakgan’ was planned as part of the spatial creation project for ‘Respectful Cultural City Dobong,’ a cultural specialization area project.

Through this space, the district aims to share the urban philosophy that ‘the life of a city is formed by its residents’ with the community. Completed on December 18, 2020, this place plans to enhance local cultural capabilities through various cultural methods, connecting ‘region-people-art’ and gradually expanding its scope.

The composition of the ‘Ssi-al Banghakgan’ space is broadly divided into the 1st floor Cultural City Hall, 2nd floor Art Hall, and 3rd floor Community Space Ssi-al. The main exhibition on the 1st floor Cultural City Hall is titled ‘Awakening Closed Facilities through Cultural Regeneration,’ introducing six cases where abandoned industrial facilities and idle spaces in domestic cultural deserts have been completely transformed into local cultural hubs through ‘cultural renovation’ work.

Additionally, the participatory exhibition ‘Respectful Cultural City Dobong Created by Ssi-al’ is held simultaneously. The district introduces 11 locations where visitors can glimpse the ‘Ssi-al spirit,’ including the Ham Seok-hyun Memorial Hall, and provides a cultural city library where visitors can freely access domestic books, magazines, reports, and publications related to cultural cities.

The 2nd floor ‘Art Hall’ hosts ‘Art for Recovery: Capturing the Stories of Dobong’s People,’ which embodies a practical movement to listen to neighbors’ daily lives and the community and to restore relationships.

This resident participation exhibition, selected through a prior public contest, pairs 12 Dobong-gu artists with 12 Dobong-gu residents one-on-one to complete artworks. The artists directly interview residents and narrate the intersecting points of their lives. Visitors can discover 12 different aspects of Dobong-gu through the stories told by the 12 pairs of artists and residents.

The 3rd floor ‘Community Space Ssi-al’ is designed as a complex cultural space where not only works by students and teachers of Yeha Art School are displayed but also meetings, play, rest, and collaboration are possible.

Here, exhibitions such as ▲Ssi-al Zoon in ▲We Connect featuring student and artist works are held, along with a ‘Community Room Mind Shower’ lounge filled with cushions inside a large bathtub for casual conversations.

Dobong Cultural Foundation plans to utilize ‘Ssi-al Banghakgan’ as a cultural city hub space, developing programs that firmly connect the diverse lives of residents with culture and arts. However, due to COVID-19, the official opening will be postponed until stable operations can be ensured in 2021.

Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “A cultural city means a city where cultural communication is smooth through regional characteristics and resident-led initiatives. The space revived as Ssi-al Banghakgan is a cultural respect space combining the fire station’s respect for life and the residents’ respect for their community.”

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