Director Kim Tae-hoon of the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) (third from left) attends a groundbreaking ceremony for the New York Korea Center on 32nd Street in Manhattan on June 28.
By Xu Aiying and Lee Hana
Photos = Korean Culture and Information Service
A groundbreaking ceremony for the New York Korea Center was held by the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) on 32nd Street in Manhattan on June 28.
The new center will have a total area of 3,212 square meters (34,574 square feet) in a seven storey building with a basement. The center will house the Korean Cultural Center in New York and the New York branch of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
The center will offer performances, exhibitions, lectures and tourism information. It’s expected to broaden the reach of Korean heritage, arts and traditions across the U.S., and specifically strengthen the Korean presence in one of the world’s leading international art hubs.
The building will feature a 176-seat performance space, as well as an exhibition hall, a library and lecture halls. It’s scheduled to open in July 2020.
Korea Centers have been built in some of the world’s major cities since 2006. These multipurpose centers house the overseas Korean Cultural Centers, as well as the overseas branches of the KTO and the Korea Creative Content Agency.
The center in New York will be the sixth of its kind, after ones built in LA (2006), Beijing (2007), Shanghai (2007), Tokyo (2009) and Paris (expected December 2018).
“Since the launch of the Korean Cultural Center here in New York back in 1979, we’ve come a long way to today’s independent building, some 39 years later. There’s a Korean proverb that says, ‘After the rain, the ground becomes solid.’ My hope is that the new Korean Cultural Center will serve as a hub for Korean arts, heritage and tradition,” said Director of KOCIS Kim Tae-hoon.
“Starting with North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, there have been a series of historic meetings, such as the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit, the Korea-U.S. summit and the U.S.-North Korea summit. These major events have transformed the Korean Peninsula from a place of dispute and tension into a land that strives for peace and security. The Korean Cultural Center in New York will play its part and work to publicize Korean arts, music, heritage, traditions and tourism all across North America,” he said.
A blueprint shows the seven-storey New York Korea Center expected to open in 2020 on 32nd street in Manhattan.
xuaiy@korea.kr
