A focal point for local culture has been established in Yeongjong-gu, the district newly launched under the administrative restructuring of Incheon Metropolitan City. The Yeongjong-gu Cultural Center (Director Park Bong-ju) held an opening ceremony at its newly built headquarters on July 14 and officially began operations under its new name, “Yeongjong-gu Cultural Center.” The cultural center’s reorganization comes in step with the administrative overhaul that launched Jemulpo-gu and Yeongjong-gu as separate districts, and marks the full-fledged operation of a base where residents of the Yeongjong area can enjoy culture and the arts within their own community.
 [The Korean Today] The opening ceremony held July 14 on the second floor of the Yeongjong-gu Cultural Center’s new building © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
The center’s name change and relocation took effect on July 1 this year, and two weeks later, on July 14, the opening ceremony was successfully held on the second floor of the new building. The event went beyond announcing a simple office relocation, serving as a starting point for presenting the direction of Yeongjong’s culture to the local community for the first time since the administrative redistricting.
The cultural center is an institution with a considerable history. It began as the former “Incheon Cultural Center,” was renamed the “Incheon Jung-gu Cultural Center” in 2003, and laid the groundwork for local culture over many years. Now, with its signboard changed once again to “Yeongjong-gu Cultural Center,” it is embarking on its third leap forward. While the institution’s name has changed with the shifts in administrative districts, it carries on intact the roots that have sustained local culture.
The center’s new home occupies the second and third floors of a building at 8, Yeongjong-daero 327beon-gil, Yeongjong-gu, Incheon. Notably, functions are divided by floor to maximize the use of the space. The second floor serves as lecture rooms for cultural arts education programs and various cultural courses, while also being open as a cultural community space where local arts and culture clubs can gather, hold activities and interact. The idea is to lower the barrier to cultural enjoyment by concentrating learning and gathering functions on a single floor. The third floor houses the secretariat, which oversees the center’s administration and local cultural projects overall, supporting administrative convenience for visiting residents.
Building on the relocation and name change, the Yeongjong-gu Cultural Center also plans to broaden the scope of its projects. It intends to strengthen its local archiving project, which records and unearths the unique historical and cultural value of the Yeongjong area, while expanding cultural arts programs tailored to residents in line with rapidly changing local conditions, including the development of new towns behind the airport. Attention is focused on whether cultural projects closely attuned to the makeup and needs of the newly established district’s residents will follow.
Director Park Bong-ju said, “It is deeply meaningful to welcome residents in a new space alongside the launch of Yeongjong-gu,” adding, “Beyond a simple administrative relocation, we will do our best to make this a local cultural hub that any Yeongjong-gu resident can comfortably visit and enjoy.”
Detailed information, including how to use the Yeongjong-gu Cultural Center and schedules for upcoming cultural courses, is available on its official website and social media (Yeongjong-gu Cultural Center), and inquiries can be directed to the Culture Projects Team (032-761-2779). Attention is now on whether the newly refurbished Yeongjong-gu Cultural Center, launched in tandem with the new autonomous district, will establish itself as a hub connecting culture and the arts to the daily lives of Yeongjong residents.
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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