Seoul Arts Center

Seoul Arts Center
예술의 전당

Established	1988
Location	Nambusunhwan-ro 2406 (700 Seocho-dong), Seocho-gu Seoul, South Korea
Type	Art center
Director	Shin Hyeon-taek
Website	http://www.sac.or.kr/eng

Seoul Arts Center is a representative art and culture complex of Korea, located at Nambusunhwanro 2406, Seocho-gu, Seoul. The complex annually presents nearly a thousand performances of music, opera, dance, musical and play, as well as over 100 exhibitions and education programs, attracting approximately 2.5 million visitors each year. It comprises five main buildings: Opera House, Music Hall, Hangaram Art Museum, Hangaram Design Museum and Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum.

Performance facilities

The "Music Hall" consists of the Concert Hall, Recital Hall and IBK Chamber Hall connected together by a foyer. This section, designed for instrumental performances, has gained acknowledgements from world’s renowned musicians such as M. Rostropovich and I. Stern for its perfect acoustic architecture.

• Concert Hall: The horseshoe shaped Concert Hall with 2,523 seats and three stories is acclaimed for its ideal acoustics by numerous artists who have a performance here. Remodeled and renovated in 2005, Concert Hall demonstrates its superb sound in every concert.

• IBK Chamber Hall: The venue with 600 seats is the music hall dedicated to chamber music, designated to accommodate closer communication between performers and audiences. (opened in 2011)

• Recital Hall: The ideal stage for recital and ensemble is suitable for concerts that require clear sound rather than reverberation of sound. It has 354 seats and two levels.

• Opera House: Since its opening in 1993, the Opera House has been a landmark of the Seoul Arts Center, which features a unique shape of a "Got (Korean traditional hat made of bamboo)". It has three separate theaters:

• Opera Theater: The 2,340-seat facility is a classical horseshoe-shaped theater with a proscenium arch, equipped with state-of-the-art staging lighting and sound systems. It is designed for grand operas, ballets, and musicals.

• Towol Theater: The theater is equipped with a proscenium arch and exclusively used for plays. It has a highly adaptable stage and the latest stage mechanisms. The venue was closed for major renovations from August 2011 and is expected to reopen February 2013 with increased seating capacity to 1,000.

• Jayu Theater: The small theater features an intimate actor/audience relationship designed for experimental and avant-garde performances. The relationship may be created by temporary seating set up in a found space or in a flexible, purpose-built space.

Museums

• Hangaram Art Museum

Hangaram Art Museum is located on the left wing of Seoul Arts Center, being true to its function as a space for plastic arts. The museum has three levels above ground and one level underground with six exhibition rooms, storage rooms, and art shops, which are equipped with temperature and humidity adjustment and lighting facilities. In particular, the luminous ceiling system enables a full appreciation of art works by creating a bright indoor atmosphere similar to natural light. Also, it allows a great view of large works as the first and second floors are not divided.

• Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum

Seoul Calligraphy Museum, which opened in 1988, is the world's first-ever exhibition venue dedicated to calligraphy. Traditional works as well as contemporary works are continuously presented in 10 exhibition hall. The oriental atmosphere of the calligraphy museum is the only one in the world which preserves the culture of the Chinese characters, and thus has been drawing many foreign visitors.

• Hangaram Design Museum

Hangaram Design Museum has been built to awaken public interest in design by showing innovative contemporary exhibitions and events. It consists of four exhibition halls.

Other Facilities

• Vitamin Station – The underground space between the Hangaram Art Museum and the Hangaram Design Art Museum was created in December 2008 to boost the convenience of visitors. Since its opening, the Vitamin Station has become a new landmark and attraction as well as a popular meeting place for visitors. The Vitamin Station is an open space which provides the following facilities: Service Plaza providing ticketing and reservation services; V-gallery which is a small exhibition space introducing works of diverse genres; various food and beverage facilities including Italian restaurant Ristorante Bellini and coffee shop Cafe Bauhaus; shops and convenience facilities.

• Shinsegae Square Outdoor Stage: Located between the Hangaram Art Museum and the Design Art Museum, it provides quality entertainments with performances of diverse genres, including jazz, ballet, movie, b-boying, exhibition, etc., to become a comfortable resting place for visitors. The outdoor performances allow people to enjoy a unique and free atmosphere

• SAC World Music Fountain

This spectacular fountain is a popular site for visitors since its opening in 2002. It dances to well-known songs selected by experts and displays a more magnificent view at night with lighting.

Resident Organizations

• Korean National Ballet
• Korea National Opera
• Korean Symphony Orchestra
• Contemporary Dance Company
• National Chorus of Korea

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seoul Arts Center.

• Official site (English)