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S. Korea’s largest cultural center to open to public this week

September 2, 2015

A general view of the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju before its soft opening on Sept. 4, 2015. This photo was taken on Sept. 1. (Yonhap)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — South Korea’s largest multipurpose cultural center will open its doors to the public this week after nearly a decade of construction in the southwestern provincial city of Gwangju, the government said Wednesday.

“Starting Friday, we’re going to open the inner and outer spaces of the Asia Culture Center and part of the programs run by each facility to citizens,” the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said in a release.

The construction of the ACC began in 2005 as part of then President Roh Moo-hyun’s plan to foster Gwangju as a mecca of culture and arts in Asia.

Built on some 130,000 square meters of land in Gwangju, 329 kilometers south of Seoul, the ACC is aimed at facilitating exchanges and cooperation among artists at home and abroad and promoting exchanges of the indigenous cultures of Asian countries. Also a part of the center’s mission is to create, produce and circulate new content based on research of Asian cultural resources.

The ACC’s official opening is due in November when the “center for democracy-peace exchanges,” the last of the center’s five major facilities, is completed.

Various cultural events are ready planned for the center’s early opening.

On the eve of the opening, a free outdoor show will be held in a public square in front of the ACC with a dance performance, a laser show and a performance by an a cappella group.

The Children’s Center will host the Children’s Festival, featuring 41 acclaimed children’s plays from 11 countries, including the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Spain, Australia, Italy, Malaysia and Japan, on Sept. 4-12.

The Art Theater will stage 33 films by 29 Asian directors, including “The Monk from the Tang Dynasty” by Taiwan’s Tsai Ming Liang and “Cemetery of Slendor” by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

The Center for Cultural Creation will open an exhibition giving a glimpse into thoughts of contemporary Asian people, while an exhibit of an archive on Asian culture and arts will be held at the Cultural Information Center.