Dark Underground Passage Transformed into Art Studio

Seocho-gu Transformed into 'Seoripul Art Studio'

Seoripul Art Studio Music Library view. (Photo by Seocho District Office)

The underground passage in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, located in front of the National Gugak Center and Korea National University of Arts, which was dark, old, and rarely used, has been transformed into a multipurpose cultural space. Seocho-gu District Office (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced on the 3rd that it has remodeled the first underground passage of the Seoul Arts Center and opened the doors to the ‘Seoripul Art Studio,’ combining the fun of culture and arts with cutting-edge technology.

Seocho-gu has turned this idle space into a place where young artists can carry out creative activities and residents can experience culture and arts in their daily lives. Located within the music culture district, which is concentrated with performance halls and musical instrument facilities, it is expected to become a hot spot for artists.

‘Seoripul Art Studio’ covers a total floor area of 288㎡, with a length of 40m and a width of 7.2m, and consists of a ‘Music Pub’ (about 33㎡) that provides rest through music, a ‘Music Library’ (about 17㎡) filled with nostalgic LP (Long Playing Record) albums, and three practice rooms (about 74㎡) full of dreams for young artists.

The Music Pub, located at the entrance of the underground passage, is an open space where various events such as music listening, exhibitions, and performances take place. It applies state-of-the-art multimodal AI technology that recognizes faces and voices to recommend music that matches one’s mood.

In the Music Library, visitors can take a break and enjoy music. Decorated with LP records that evoke old-fashioned feelings, comfortable chairs, and lighting, it is a space where one can relax with music full of memories. The multipurpose practice rooms can be used for individual or group practice and can also be utilized as performance venues if needed.

While converting the underground passage into a studio, Seocho-gu added 16 additional CCTV cameras in addition to the existing security CCTV. Since 2018, the underground passage right in front of the Seoul Arts Center has also been developed as the ‘Seoripul Youth Art Gallery,’ supporting creative activities by exhibiting works of young artists.

Mayor Jeon Seong-su said, “We will operate this as a safe walkway and an exciting cultural and artistic space where young artists can nurture their dreams.”