Infusing Youthful Spirit into Traditional Markets... Pusan National University College of Arts Creates 'Retro Cultural Space' at Seongbuk Market

Presenting Dance Performances and Photo Zones
A New Model for Urban Regeneration and Regional Coexistence

The College of Arts at Pusan National University (President Choi Jaewon) is collaborating with the Dong-gu District Office in Busan to promote the revitalization of traditional markets and urban regeneration through the "Seongbuk Market Retro Space Creation Project," establishing a new model for regional coexistence.

The Department of Design at the College of Arts is remodeling vacant stores within Seongbuk Market, located on Sanbok Road in Dong-gu, as part of the RISE project "Citizen Empathy-Oriented Milieu (Environment) for Solving Local Community Issues." These spaces will be transformed into retro-themed experiential zones by the end of December.

Seongbuk Market Retro Space and Festival Performances · Photo Zone. Provided by Pusan National University

This project focuses on encouraging citizens to revisit traditional markets in the old downtown area by collaborating with content companies in Busan. It aims to reinterpret the nostalgic "comic book store" in a contemporary way and combine it with AI-based experiential content, fostering both intergenerational empathy and interest.

Additionally, as part of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's "Arts College Employment Competency Education Development Support Project," the College of Arts participated in the "3rd Webtoon Story Street Festival" held at Seongbuk Market on the 25th. Students from the Department of Dance and the Department of Design presented guerrilla dance performances and created photo zones, infusing new energy into the traditional market through the involvement of young artists.

Pusan National University is also running the "Seongbuk Market Character Decoration Project" in connection with classes through the Glocal University Project until December, realizing a participatory arts education model based on local field experiences.

The Seongbuk Market Retro Space will be open to the public free of charge from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., every Wednesday to Sunday (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays) until December 28.