"I Never Knew Such a Space Existed"... Emerging as a Hot Spot for the MZ Generation?

[Anchor]

These days, performance venues are no longer just places to watch shows. They are transforming into more approachable spaces where visitors can enjoy new experiences even if they are not attending a performance.

Culture and arts reporter Kim Soo-hyun has the story.

[Reporter]

People visiting the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts from early in the morning.

They are not audience members for a show, but participants in a backstage tour.

Behind the stage, filled with set pieces, props, and all sorts of items, the hidden side of the venue is revealed.

[You Jung-ah/Announcer & Backstage Tour Guide : In English, it is called a batten, and in our language, there are 35 bars called suspension poles. Different curtains are installed on those bars.]

In the rehearsal room, participants observe a practice session by the Seoul Dance Company and even try out some of the choreography themselves.

Walking through every corner of the venue and heading up to the rooftop reveals an open-air space with a breathtaking view of Sejong-daero and Gwanghwamun.

[Kim Chae-min/Seocho-gu, Seoul : I had no idea that such an open space (at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts) existed. It was great to be able to see those hidden spaces.]

That is not all.

The Sejong Center is continuously introducing a variety of programs, such as concerts where audiences wander around different parts of the venue to enjoy live music, heritage dinners transforming the theater lobby into a banquet hall in partnership with renowned chefs, and a "listening stage" where people can lie down on bean bags on stage and listen to music.

[Ahn Ho-sang/CEO of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts : Because of Netflix, an era has arrived where people can experience this kind of content anytime without even coming outside, and amidst intensifying competition, we wondered if we could create something new that can only be experienced by coming to the theater...]

Having recently established an outdoor projects department, the Seoul Arts Center plans to host its first-ever "silent disco party," where participants dance while wearing wireless headphones.

Seoul Arts Center CEO Chang Han-na stated her goal to turn the center into a cultural and artistic destination where footsteps never cease all day long, as well as a hot spot for the MZ generation.

The performing arts industry expects that as performance venues establish themselves into lifestyle spaces offering such novel experiences, audiences for their main product—performances—will also grow.

(Video Reported by Kim Se-kyung | Video Edited by Park Na-young | VJ: Oh Se-kwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.