Contemporary Korean Arts Series Arts Council Korea
ae ang no Theater District in Seoul
Lee Chin A
[]l-Iollym Daehangno Theater District in Seoul
Copyright © 201 1 by Arts Council Korea
Written by Lee Chin A Translated by Lee Eu n-ju, Cho Youn Kyung Photographs by Suh Jae-sik
All rights reserved.
First published in 2011 by Hollym International Corp. , USA Phone 908 353 1655 Fax 908 353 0255 http://www.hollym.com e-Mail [email protected]
[J Hollym
Published simultaneously in Korea by Hollym Corp., Publishers, Seoul, Korea Phone +82 27345087 Fax +82 2 730 5149 http://www.hollym.co.kr e-Mail [email protected]
ISBN : 978-1 -56591-320-2 (Hardcover) 978-1-56591-321-9 (Soft cover)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011932951
Printed in Korea
• The Romanization of Korean names and expressions in this publication follows the system instituted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Korea in 2000. Daehangno at a glance
D Public Theaters D Small Theaters D Museums and Galleries D Historic Landmarks
' . o :<.. (Subway Line 4) " "" \ II H,yehw a -don~ Rotar,Y ~ "'." ::: ,," " ' ..
) I Naksa n Park
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, Marronnier Park
'Box office for "Sa rang Ticket s"
Ihwa-dong Intersection
IH a k r i l11~o ffee h o~se
Se oul National University H osp~t~ I __
Venue names continue on the next page. . ..• ·@n@jijitltiiNt) Daehangno Arts Theater 2 ARKO Arts Th eater 3 Artist House (former ARKO)
1 Yeonwoo Th eater 2 Theater Laboratory Hyehwa-dong 1st Number 3 Dongsoong Art Center 4 Hakchon Green Theater 5 Hakchon Blue Theater 6 Doorae Hall 4 (former Aroongguji Theater) 7 Kideuk Kideu k Art Hall 8 Top Art Hall 9 SM Ti n Tin Hall 10 Galgari Hall 11 Samtoh Blue Bird Th eater 12 Daehangno Theater
·~ii'($~I'i"~ii,t.l®itfriiD Robot Museum 2 ARKO Art Center 3 Lock Museum 4 Museum of Korea Straw and Plants Handicraft
Historic Landmarks
1 Hyehwamun Gate 2 Seou l Fortress Wa ll 3 Ihwajang House 4 Hamchunwonji Garden Site 5 Seonggyungwan Academy 6 Changgyeonggung Palace Table of Contents
Preface -- 5
Daehangno at a glance - - 8
Street of Culture and Art - - 12 Geographica l and Cultural Location of Daehangno A Mecca of Culture an d Art
Cradle of the Performing Arts 24 Cultural Institutions and Pub lic Th eaters Private Sma ll Theaters Perform ing Arts Fest ivals
3 Street of History and Culture -- 81 Historic Landmarks Museums and Galleries
4 Story of Historical Memories -- 105 Cu ltural Origins of Daehangno Emergence of Sma ll Theaters Identity as a Street of Cu lture and Art
Notes -- 122
Appendix -- 123 01
Street of Culture and Art
Geographical and Cultural Location of Daehangno
Daehangno 1 is one of the trendiest and most charming streets in Seoul.
It attracts people of all ages and nationalities. The district is especiall y crowded on weekends with yo ung co upl es and families who com e to enjoy a variety of plays, live performances and festivals. What m a ke Daehangno sp ecial and different from other downtown areas are the artists and yo ung people who fill the street all yea r round. Indeed, surveys show that more than 70 percent of the pedestrian population in Daehangno consists of peopl e in their 20s. Packed with about 150 theaters and performing arts ve nues, it is truly a central hub of culture and art. Few other places in the world have such a high concentration of theaters in a single area. Daehangno was officia ll y give n it s current name on May 5, 1985. The name
12 Daehangno Daehangno, which litera ll y means "college stree t," was proposed by Jeong Han-mo, then chairman of the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation (the present Arts Council Korea), and officially adopted in 1985. The name further strengthened the image of the area as being populated by yo ung people. Of co urse, even before the na me was adopted, coll ege students and other yo ung people used to gather here. When Seoul National University moved to the cur rent location in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, in 1975, the Culture and Art Center and the Fine Art Center as well as the Ko rean Culture and Arts Fou ndation occupied the site, and subsequently many culture and arts- related private organizations and theaters began to move to the area one after another. Marronnier
People enjoy a live performance in Marronnier Park.