Culture Ministry: "Seogye-dong Complex Cultural Space to Begin in Earnest... Will Reflect Performing Arts Community's Opinions as Much as Possible"

3rd Public Hearing on the 24th, Strengthening Communication by Collecting Additional Opinions

Exterior view of the National Theater of Korea Small Theater Pan. Photo by National Theater of Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 23rd that it will hold a "Seogye-dong Complex Cultural Facility Project Public Hearing" at the National Theater in Seogye-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 24th.

This public hearing was organized to gather opinions from the performing arts community regarding the creation of a complex cultural facility on the 7,904㎡ (approximately 2,390 pyeong) site currently used by the National Theater in Seogye-dong. As the third public hearing following those held in February and May, it aims to respond to previous requests from the performing arts sector concerning the direction of the theater construction and national financial investment plans, as well as to collect additional feedback.

Since receiving the current site, formerly used by the Defense Security Command Transport Unit, in 2010, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has been promoting projects related to the establishment of national cultural and artistic spaces. Accordingly, through the "Seogye-dong Open Cultural Space Complex Cultural Tourism Facility Construction Basic Plan Research" conducted by the National Theater in 2013, the construction direction and detailed space plans were prepared.

According to the project plan announcement, the complex cultural facility will be a 15-story building above ground and 4 stories underground, constructed through a Build-Transfer-Lease (BTL) model. It will include a large performance hall with 1,200 seats, a medium performance hall with 500 seats, and three small performance halls with 300, 200, and 100 seats respectively. The total project cost is 124.4 billion KRW, with construction scheduled from July next year to December 2026.

Earlier, as the project began in earnest this year, the Ministry held public hearings to explain the project progress and gather on-site demand and opinions regarding the construction of the performance halls.

However, theatrical academic organizations such as the Korean Theatre Critics Association, Theatre Studies Association, Drama Studies Association, and Theatre Arts Association issued a statement on the 21st opposing the plan. They argued, "For artistic capabilities to be fully expressed, reflection and freedom regarding the unique spaces of theatrical arts must be guaranteed," and stated, "The Seogye-dong complex cultural space construction plan reduces artists from being subjects of artistic production to mere objects."

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to respond to the performing arts sector's requests regarding the theater construction direction and national financial investment plans at this third public hearing and to strengthen communication by collecting additional opinions.

A Ministry official said, "We have arranged this additional public hearing to reflect as many opinions from the performing arts field as possible in this project," adding, "We will continue to communicate with the field and strive to expand the insufficient performance spaces to enhance artists' creative activities and increase cultural enjoyment opportunities for the public."

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