Seoul Thermal Power Plant at End of Life Transforms into a Complex Cultural Space

Ministry of Culture's Danginri Culture Creation Development Center Groundbreaking Ceremony
"A Cultural and Artistic Hot Place Surpassing Tate Modern"

The decommissioned Units 4 and 5 of the Seoul Thermal Power Plant are being transformed into a complex cultural space. On the 17th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Seoul Thermal Power Plant in Mapo-gu, Seoul, marking the start of the Danginri Cultural Creation Power Plant. The opening is scheduled for 2025. The site covers an area of 81,650㎡, with a total building floor area of 25,532㎡, consisting of two basement floors and six above-ground floors. Jominseok, CEO of Mass Studies who is in charge of the design, stated, "It will be a place where ecology and culture coexist, where history to see and feel and the progressive future of young people come together," and confidently added, "It will become a representative urban space of South Korea in name and reality."

Unit 4, which was decommissioned in 2015, will be remodeled into cultural facilities including two exhibition halls (1,743㎡), a black box-style performance hall (2,273㎡) utilizing the turbine hall space, and a project room (915㎡) for creative activities. Unit 5, which lost its function in 2019, will be preserved in its original form as a modern industrial heritage site and reborn as an educational space where visitors can experience the history of South Korea’s first thermal power plant. The most notable space is the 'Danginri Podium,' where the rooftops of Units 4 and 5, 18 meters high (5th floor), are connected as one. It will be an open rooftop plaza overlooking the Han River, designed as an open space similar to Marronnier Park. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official explained, "It will feature eco-friendly urban agriculture using movable flower beds, busking performances, outdoor fashion shows, and facilities centered on small business owners such as youth food trucks."

A notable example of a power plant reborn as a cultural and artistic landmark is the Tate Modern on the banks of the Thames River in London, UK, which opened in 2000. The abandoned Bankside Power Station was transformed into a modern art museum. While preserving the existing exterior such as the chimney, the interior was remodeled into exhibition spaces. The Danginri Cultural Creation Power Plant aims to differentiate itself with a broader purpose.

Park Bo-gyun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "If Tate Modern is an art museum, Danginri will be a unique and cutting-edge complex cultural space where all genres of art can be created, performed, and exhibited," promising, "We will nurture it as a new cultural and artistic hot place and a space that creates experimental art (Modern and Contemporary)."

About 150 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony, including Minister Park, Kim Hobin, President of Korea Midland Power, and Yoon Gilho, President of Gyeryong Construction Industry. Cultural artists such as ballerina Kim Juwon, artist Park Geurim, and traditional Korean musician Baek Hyunho also participated, expressing their hopes that the space will provide experimental artists of the MZ generation with opportunities for creative experimentation and the best stage.