Opening of Seoul·Seongbuk Media Culture Maru

▲ Seoul City Viewer Media Center ▲ Geulbit Library ▲ Kkumbit Theater ▲ Mulbit Swimming Pool, the representative media hub complex facilities in the northeastern area, Seoul·Seongbuk Media Culture Maru begins full operation... Offline opening ceremony at 3 PM on the 27th and live broadcast on YouTube 'SeongbukTV' channel

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) will hold an opening ceremony at 3 p.m. on the 27th to announce the full-scale operation of the Seoul·Seongbuk Media Culture Maru, a representative media hub complex facility in the northeastern area that has been carefully prepared over seven years since 2014.

The Seoul·Seongbuk Media Culture Maru is a generation-integrated space where all age groups can use major facilities together, allowing families to experience various cultural activities in one building. It is a cultural complex full of diversity, literally "prepared for whatever you might like," offering spaces filled with various experiences tailored to everyone's tastes.

Located at 1286-8 Gireum-dong, Seongbuk-gu, it consists of facilities such as ▲Seoul Viewer Media Center ▲Geulbit Library ▲Kkumbit Theater ▲Mulbit Swimming Pool.

Among these, the most representative space, the Seoul Viewer Media Center, was established to keep pace with the era where video content is in the spotlight. It is fully equipped with environments for producing various media content, including TV and radio studios, dedicated editing spaces with video editing programs available for rental, and media equipment lending services.

In particular, the Geulbit Library became famous even before the opening ceremony due to its beautiful interior space gaining popularity on social media, and it has received a positive response from residents, with 5,000 books borrowed within one week of its temporary opening, reflecting the demand of the nearby community.

This place continuously supports content that integrates information and communication technology (ICT) reading culture and arts, such as ▲augmented reality picture book experiences ▲streaming service book collections ▲coding creation programs, providing opportunities to easily accumulate new knowledge and experiences in daily life.

The Kkumbit Theater, famous for hosting the "Violinist Han Su-jin's Recital" which sold out within an hour of ticket release, showed strong audience turnout during multiple performances held at the opening festival in April and May, with seats filled except for socially distanced ones, demonstrating high expectations for this new professional performance venue.

The district plans to offer healing to residents exhausted by COVID-19 through a Korean traditional music festival, Seoul Philharmonic concerts, and various planned performances by the end of the year.

Lastly, the Mulbit Swimming Pool, which was the last facility of the Seoul Seongbuk Media Culture Maru to open due to COVID-19, saw many residents turning away due to sold-out tickets from the first day of operation. This facility boasts more convenient access and comfortable amenities compared to existing public swimming pools, and once the COVID-19 situation stabilizes, it will meet residents' expectations with various program lessons.

Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, said, “I am happy and excited that the long-awaited Seoul·Seongbuk Media Culture Maru is finally starting full-scale operation. I hope it will enrich the daily lives of our residents culturally in the short term and become a space that fosters creative talents in the media field within our region, making a significant mark on the cultural development of Seongbuk-gu in the long term.”

The opening ceremony will be held on May 27th at 3 p.m., following COVID-19 social distancing and quarantine guidelines. It will be conducted both offline and online, with the online ceremony live-streamed on the YouTube channel 'SeongbukTV,' allowing any interested residents to watch online.