Government Leads Creation of Performing Arts Belt Centered on National Theater
'National Performing Arts Creation Center' Established in Jayu Center Building
National Theater Company, Relocated in 2010, Returns to National Theater
The government is establishing the 'Namsan Performing Arts Belt' centered around the National Theater and the National Performing Arts Creation Center (tentative name).
On the 19th, Yoon In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated at the Jayu Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, "Following the complex cultural space in Seogye-dong and the reconstruction of the National Jeongdong Theater, we will create the Namsan Performing Arts Belt to lay a solid foundation for the growth of the performing arts industry." He added, "We will use this as an opportunity for an innovative leap to spread K-performance worldwide."
The National Performing Arts Creation Center will be established in the Jayu Center building owned by the Korea Freedom Federation. To concretize this, Minister Yoon signed a business agreement with Kang Seok-ho, President of the Korea Freedom Federation, on the same day to promote the development of performing arts. They promised long-term (20 years) leasing and mutual cooperation to enhance facility utilization.
The Jayu Center is a monumental work representing Korean architecture in the 1960s. It was designed by Kim Swoo-geun, who is regarded as a first-generation modern architect of Korea.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to provide rehearsal rooms, performance halls, and stage equipment classification centers within the 2,618-pyeong building and 1,720-pyeong site. These facilities will be offered to various performing groups, making it a hub for the performing arts industry that covers everything from planning and creation to production, distribution, and consumption of performances.
▲ The 'National Theater' (currently Myeongdong Arts Theater), established in 1936. It was a theater dedicated to stage plays, originally two stories high and accommodating about 800 spectators. Approximately five plays, including 'Prince Hodong' and 'Hamlet,' were performed annually. It was the only national theater in Korea until it relocated to Jangchung-dong in 1971.
The Ministry will also bring back the National Theater Company, which became an independent corporation in 2010, under the National Theater. This move reflects the wishes of the performing arts and theater community. At a field meeting with Minister Yoon on the 7th, many participants unanimously suggested its return. A ministry official said, "This could greatly strengthen the historical and symbolic significance of the Namsan Performing Arts Belt."
The National Theater Company will become the focal point for performance creation in the Namsan area. It plans to showcase a variety of experimental and artistic plays that are difficult for the private sector to produce, moving away from its current foundation corporation form.
In addition to the Namsan Performing Arts Belt, the Ministry will continuously establish and improve complex cultural spaces in the heart of the city, including Myeongdong, Jeongdong, and Seogye-dong, to support the entire performing arts industry. The Seogye-dong complex cultural space, consisting of performance halls, rehearsal rooms, and multi-purpose cultural facilities, will be completed by 2028. The National Jeongdong Theater, scheduled for reconstruction, also aims to complete by 2028 with expanded performance and convenience facilities.
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