"I Feel Ecstasy When Someone Asks, 'What's the Next Performance?'"

Interview with Song Jeyong, CEO of Mapo Cultural Foundation
Expansion of Art Hall Mac to 1,000 Seats
M Sonata Series Performances by Kim Sunwook, Baek Geonwoo, and Sunwoo Yekwon
Preparing for Original Musical "First Love" Performance at Month-End
M Classic Festival Attracts 20,000 Simultaneous Viewers, Differentiation Strategy Turns Crisis into Opportunity

Interview_Song Jeyong, CEO of Mapo Cultural Foundation./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Mapo was a center of trade during the late Joseon Dynasty, home to the ‘Three Harbors’ at the mouth of the Han River: Yongho, Maho, and Seoho. With its outstanding scenery, framed by Nogosan and Wausan mountains to the north and the Han River to the south, it became the birthplace of countless poems and paintings. Perhaps it is this artistic spirit that continues to this day. Since its establishment in 2007, the Mapo Cultural Foundation has attracted early attention through diverse performance planning and unique festival operations.

Since 2020, CEO Song Jeyong has been leading the Mapo Cultural Foundation. Despite the outbreak of COVID-19 coinciding with his appointment, he has implemented differentiated strategies by turning the Mapo M Classic Festival into a digital contact performance, turning crisis into opportunity. In an interview with Asia Economy held on the 1st at the Mapo Art Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul, CEO Song stated, “Our role, both mine and the foundation’s, is to provide rich cultural programs through excellent planning even in difficult circumstances.” Below is a Q&A with CEO Song.

- The Art Hall Mac at the performance venue has reopened after expanding into a large theater with over 1,000 seats.

▲ We expanded from the previous 733 seats to 1,004 seats, replacing the aging seats and significantly upgrading the stage facilities and sound equipment. To match the dignity of a large theater, this year’s M Sotana series featured performances by Korea’s top pianists such as Kim Sunwook, Sunwoo Yekwon, and Baek Geonwoo. At the end of this month, the production team is working hard preparing for the original musical 'First Love.'

- I’m curious about how the original musical ‘First Love’ was planned.

▲ In high school, I had the chance to watch the MBC College Song Festival stage, where the grand prize winner was Professor Kim Hyogeun from Ewha Womans University. At the time, it was surprising that an economics student won, so I remembered it well. Recently, I happened to hear a song called ‘My Soul Becomes the Wind’ and recognized the composer’s name as familiar. Upon checking, it was the same person. Listening to Professor Kim’s works one by one, I thought it might be possible to create a musical composition.

I visited him personally and proposed making a touching work centered on the song ‘First Love,’ one that could especially appeal to people in their 50s and 60s. Director Lee Jinwook and writer Oh Sehyuk joined, and we began full-scale production. Since this is an original musical attempted by a local cultural foundation, budget issues were challenging, but fortunately, owning a theater allowed us to reduce rental costs and stage the performance over three days.

Song Jeyong, CEO of Mapo Cultural Foundation. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

- Due to the impact of COVID-19, offline performances were halted, but you proceeded with the M Classic Festival as a video event and released the web drama ‘Tojeong Romance’ starring comedian Kim Yongmyung, showcasing remarkable content planning skills.

▲ Even without COVID-19, I believed video content was not a choice but an inevitability. One day, after my son was about to be discharged from the military and had entered university, we went out together, but while walking, he kept looking at his phone. At bus stops, whereas many people used to read newspapers, now 95% are looking at their phones. Given the powerful influence of phones as content consumption devices, I thought content with added fun and entertainment would have even greater impact.

Coincidentally, right after I became CEO, COVID-19 spread, making it impossible to hold performances. I came here ‘to be,’ not ‘not to be,’ so I actively pursued video content production I had been considering, covering budget shortfalls with external funding. Especially during the Mapo M Classic Festival, we introduced a 670-inch monitor on stage and staged a performance with a 40-piece orchestra and a 100-member choir, marking a new attempt for the cultural foundation. Until then, the highest simultaneous viewers record was 17,000 for the ‘Cheer Up Concert’ at Sejong Center, but our foundation’s performance recorded 20,000 simultaneous viewers, setting a surprising record on Naver TV where the performance was streamed.

- What is the source of your new planning ideas, and what motivated you to challenge yourself as the foundation’s CEO after working as a journalist?

▲ I worked in advertising and cultural business at Chosun Ilbo and Hankyoreh, but I was someone who loved art more than anyone and wanted to pursue it myself. I was accepted into the Department of Theater and Film during college entrance exams, but my parents strongly opposed it, so I changed my major. Even after joining an advertising company as a copywriter after graduation, my passion for art never faded. Although I was physically at a newspaper company, I gained experience in departments handling various projects, which helped me develop planning skills.

For example, in 2020, during the Mapo 6 Views performance, one day on my way home passing Gangbyeonbuk-ro, I saw an advertisement for the Sogang 8 Views sky lounge. Suddenly, I recalled the historical records of Mapo 8 Views and used that as a motif to prepare six themed performances first, later adding two more after securing additional budget to complete the eight views. This year, with the resumption of in-person performances, we have returned to our core mission, expanding the scope to include coffee cantata performances to revitalize local small businesses, brunch performances for local residents during the day, and a variety of classical performances and original musicals suitable for a large theater.

Interview_Song Jeyong, CEO of Mapo Cultural Foundation./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

- What do you consider your achievements so far, and what are your plans for the remainder of your term?

▲ I feel the greatest joy when people I meet ask, “What’s the next performance? What’s the next plan?” Having worked long in the advertising department of a newspaper, I realized my strength lies in securing budgets within cultural administration. As a side note, my family motto is ‘Yochabulpi (樂此不疲),’ meaning ‘One does not tire of what one enjoys.’ Projects like transitioning to digital video performances, planning original musicals, and producing web dramas all started from curiosity about what fun elements the public, including residents, would enjoy.

Because I started from a love and passion for art, rather than getting tired, I come up with even more ideas, which sometimes causes me to worry. My goal is to present new and diverse planning and performances that break away from the traditions and conventions of Mapo as a region and a public institution, without being confined to rigid frameworks.