From Mamma Mia to La La Land... KT and Gwanghwamun One Team Hold 'Cinema Concert'

Gwanghwamun One Team held a cinema concert on the evening of the 1st at the special stage in the playground area of Gwanghwamun Square, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by KT

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] KT announced on the 2nd that it held a cinema concert on the evening of the 1st at the special stage in the playground of Gwanghwamun Square, Jongno-gu, Seoul. This concert was organized by Gwanghwamun One Team, which includes a total of 19 companies, local governments, and non-profit organizations including KT, to provide performance opportunities for young artists based in Gwanghwamun Square.

Starting with this performance, Gwanghwamun One Team plans to offer a total of three free beautiful stages for citizens visiting Gwanghwamun Square on September 21 and October 19. Young artists who lost performance opportunities due to COVID-19, such as practical music university union teams, rookie musical actors, and indie bands, will perform movie OSTs on stage with famous scenes from films provided on a large screen as the background.

The first performance, which began on the 1st, was themed "Goodbye Summer" and filled Gwanghwamun Square with OST melodies from "Mamma Mia," "Kikujiro's Summer," and "Christmas in August," evoking memories of the hot summer days. On the 21st, OSTs from "La La Land," "Midnight in Paris," and "Breakfast at Tiffany's" will be performed, and on October 19, OSTs from animated films such as "Howl's Moving Castle," "The Little Mermaid," and "Beauty and the Beast" will be presented under the autumn sky.

Earlier, to mark the reopening of Gwanghwamun Square in August, Gwanghwamun One Team donated 73 species of shrubs and flowers including Cornus officinalis, wild cherry trees, and crape myrtles to the Four Seasons Garden section within the square. They are not only involved in the maintenance of the garden to make the urban forest a space for rest and memories but also actively participate in the continuous revitalization of Gwanghwamun Square through events like the cinema concert.

Meanwhile, since its launch, Gwanghwamun One Team has supported small business owners severely affected by COVID-19 and contributed to revitalizing the local economy through direct involvement of employees from participating institutions and companies. Moving forward, they will actively collaborate to solve broader community issues and work together for a better life for local residents. To this end, in August, KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo and heads of institutions and key local government officials affiliated with Gwanghwamun One Team held the Gwanghwamun One Team 2.0 proclamation ceremony to reaffirm their commitment.

In particular, focusing on Gwanghwamun Square, they aim to improve accessibility to facilities around Gwanghwamun for socially vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, practicing companionship with the socially disadvantaged. They will also engage in activities supporting job creation including youth employment mentoring and support for local young artists. Plans include promoting eco-friendly infrastructure for carbon neutrality, such as a step donation campaign through the pedometer function in the Nanwoojung app and expanding the use of reusable cups.

Gwanghwamun One Team was first formed in May last year under KT’s leadership to promote joint social contribution projects by combining the services, technologies, and capabilities of individual organizations. It is recognized as a leading domestic win-win model that has changed the paradigm of social contribution projects through organic collaboration among the government, local governments, and non-profit organizations, contributing to community revitalization. Following Gwanghwamun One Team, the "Sejong One Team," involving about 40 institutions including government ministries in Sejong City, was launched, followed by the "Gangwon Bonguisan One Team" with nine institutions in Gangwon Province, and the "Dalgubeol One Team" centered on the Daegu region.

Kim Moo-sung, Executive Director of KT’s ESG Management Promotion Office, said, “With the reopening of Gwanghwamun Square, Gwanghwamun One Team, which breathes life into the square, pledged to jointly create an urban forest for citizens and to take more active participation and collaboration for regional coexistence.” He added, “Going forward, companies, institutions, governments, and local governments will pool their capabilities to add value of coexistence not only to the Gwanghwamun area but to society as a whole, focusing on ESG activities that contribute to national development.”

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