Why Did Jung Won-oh, Seongdong District Mayor, Resume the Online 'Noon Cultural Performance'?

Selected as a Filming Location for Local Attractions: Dongho Reading Room, Seongsu Chaekmaru, and Performance Themes Matching the Venues ... Jung Won-oh, Seongdong District Mayor, Expresses Hope for 'Noon Cultural Performance' to Offer Cultural Enjoyment to Residents and Opportunities for Artists

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, will once again present the "Noon Cultural Performance," which had been paused for a while, online.

Since the second half of 2018, Seongdong-gu has been offering the "Noon Cultural Performance" at the Seongdong-gu Office Chaekmaru to provide visitors with a moment of midday relaxation. However, the performances were temporarily suspended last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This month, the program has resumed online, offering residents healing moments through various cultural performances.

The "Noon Cultural Performance" selects local landmarks as filming locations, choosing performance themes that suit historically rich sites such as Dongho Reading Room and Seongsu Chaekmaru. Professional performance teams specializing in instruments like the gayageum and classical music will be arranged to carry out the shows.

The first performance venue is Seongsu Art Hall located in Seongsu-dong. The filming will take place in a 350-seat hall that encompasses diverse genres such as concerts, musicals, and plays. Utilizing the latest sound, lighting, and mechanical equipment, the performance aims to provide an immersive and deeply moving experience.

The performance will feature a piano trio prepared by Rev Trio, the winner of the Audience Choice Award at the 2019 Noon Cultural Performance year-end concert. They will present pieces including the "Howl’s Moving Castle OST (Merry-Go-Round of Life)," "Scent of a Woman OST (Por una Cabeza)," and "La La Land OST (Another Day Of Sun)."

The "Noon Cultural Performance," which developed into a permanent cultural event blending reading and culture at Seongdong Chaekmaru, received great public response in 2019 with a total of 47 sessions involving 31 teams and 425 participants.

This year’s "Noon Cultural Performance," conducted with safer and more engaging themes, will continue with performances at "Seongsu Chaekmaru," followed by "Dongho Reading Room" and "Forest Library" next month. Videos will be uploaded continuously on the last Wednesday of every month, providing residents with opportunities to enjoy culture and a relaxing midday healing time.

The performances can be viewed every last Wednesday of the month at 12 noon on the Seongdong-gu Office YouTube channel.

Violinist Lee Hye-jin of Rev Trio said, “Due to COVID-19, we haven’t been able to practice for a long time, so I’m very happy to have the chance to meet the team again, warm up, and coordinate our performance with the resumption of the Noon Cultural Performance.” She added, “I am grateful just to be able to perform.”

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, stated, “I hope this performance will provide residents with opportunities to enjoy culture and artists with chances to engage in artistic activities. In these times when prolonged COVID-19 has increased general societal gloom, I hope this will be a healing time for all residents.”