[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, has established the ‘Dong-gu Humanities Hall,’ a remodeled modern house in Dongmyeong-dong, as a humanities gathering place for residents within just three months since its official opening in January this year.
The Humanities Hall, which aims to be a representative symbolic space unique to Dong-gu as a ‘humanities city,’ is positively received not only because residents can use it regularly but also because it offers various creative and exchange activities centered around books, food, movies, and tea.
The Humanities Hall consists of the main building, a renovated modern house, a newly extended Humanities Center, a shared kitchen, and a garden, and it is planned to be used as an exhibition space, lecture hall, and tea room.
From April to August, the hall plans to operate first-half programs including ▲Attic Music Journey ▲Climate Table ▲Film Humanities Theater ▲Dong-gu Tea Room ▲Local Master 1 - Yeongheung Restaurant ▲Local Master 2 - Traditional Hangwa (Korean Confectionery).
First, ‘Attic Music Journey’ will be held from April 13 to July 27 (2?4 p.m., every Wednesday), where DJ Moon Hyung-sik will introduce humanities lectures related to music, featuring Gwangju-born genius musician ‘Kim Jeong-ho,’ the eternal rock and roll legend ‘The Beatles,’ and stories related to vinyl records (LPs), communicating with residents.
‘Climate Table’ will run from April 14 to July 21 (2?4 p.m., every other Thursday), combining theory and practice monthly on themes such as ▲Climate Crisis and Vegetarianism ▲Local Food ▲Animal Rights ▲Filling and Emptying.
Invited instructors include Lee Do-kyung, a vegetarian medicinal cooking researcher; Lee Ye-sook, a macrobiotic chef; Park Sook-hee, a specialist instructor from the Gwangju Food Education Network; and Jeon In-ja, a vegetarian cooking instructor from the Climate Action Vegan Network.
‘Film Humanities Theater,’ planned by programmer Cho Dae-young of the Humanities Center, will be held from April 14 to August 18 (7?10 p.m., every other Thursday), featuring film screenings followed by lectures and Q&A sessions with invited instructors for each work.
However, to accommodate more viewers, the Film Humanities Theater will be held not at the Humanities Hall but in the large conference room on the 6th floor of the Dong-gu Office.
Time has also been arranged to invite local masters to communicate with participants. Although it closed in July 2018, the nostalgic ‘Yeongheung Restaurant,’ which served as a gathering place for local artists and democratic figures for the past 30 years, will be represented by former owner Lim Byung-sook. Masters Lee Woo-bae and Lim Hwa-ja, who have made traditional Hangwa for three generations, and master Seong Hwa-ja (Director of the Choui Tea Culture Research Institute) will operate ‘Local Master 1 & 2’ and ‘Dong-gu Tea Room,’ respectively.
A Dong-gu official said, “We will spare no support so that various humanities activities involving residents and activists can be carried out at the ‘Dong-gu Humanities Hall,’ a space that can represent Dong-gu,” adding, “We hope many residents will participate in the diverse first-half programs.”
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