Hana Financial Group Opens 'Culture Bank' Complex Branch in Gwangju Jeonil Building

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Hana Financial Group announced on the 8th that it has opened the 7th Culture Bank branch and a combined bank and securities branch at ‘Jeonil Building 245’ in Gwangju.

Hana Bank Gwangju Branch and Hana Financial Investment Gwangju Financial Center relocated to Jeonil Building 245, which holds great historical and symbolic significance, and are presenting it as a regional cultural sharing platform called ‘Culture Bank.’ They plan to participate in revitalizing the local community’s cultural activities and provide convenient and differentiated one-stop financial services as a combined bank and securities branch.

Jeonil Building 245 is a space of painful history, bearing the bullet marks from helicopter shootings during the May 18 Democratic Movement. After about four years of remodeling, it was reborn in March this year as a future cultural creation space for citizens.

Hana Bank’s Culture Bank is a project that creates open cultural spaces for local communities by utilizing bank branches. It has established specialized content stores featuring crafts, healing bookstores, gardening, lifestyle select shops, and specialized target stores for foreigners.

The 7th Culture Bank branch, Hana Bank Gwangju Branch, is themed as a senior hangout. Named ‘Lounge 1968’ after the year Jeonil Building was completed, it will operate various programs so that seniors sharing nostalgia from the 1970s and 1980s can enjoy their second life. In the retro-style lounge, visitors can enjoy a cup of coffee and reading while listening to LP music and participate in community programs sharing their tastes.

Jung Man-sik, Head of Hana Bank Honam Sales Group, said, “The Gwangju branch is the first case combining a combined branch and Culture Bank, making it Hana Financial Group’s representative branch where comprehensive financial services of banking and securities and cultural content can be enjoyed in one place.”

Meanwhile, to commemorate the opening, Culture Bank Gwangju Branch will hold the ‘Aesthetics of Recommendation Exhibition’ featuring recommended books by 30 local figures, which will be on display until the end of September.