"Even Netflix Can't Match This": The 'Overwhelming Difference' Inside Secret Spaces

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

They are not concertgoers, but participants in a "Backstage Tour."

Behind the stage, filled with stage sets, props, and all sorts of items, the hidden inner workings of the theater are revealed.

[Voice / Yu Jung-a, Backstage Tour Guide: In English, they are called battens, and in Korean, we have 35 bars known as hyeonsubong. Different curtains are installed on these bars.]

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

After walking through every nook and cranny of the theater and climbing up to the rooftop, an outdoor space unfolds, offering a refreshing panoramic view of Sejong-daero and Gwanghwamun.

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

And that is not all.

The Sejong Center is continuously rolling out various programs, such as a concert where audiences wander around different parts of the theater to enjoy live music, a heritage dinner organized in partnership with a famous chef turning the theater lobby into a banquet hall, and a "Listening Stage" where people can lie down on bean bags on the stage and listen to music.

[Interview / Ahn Ho-sang, President of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts: We have reached an era where people can experience such content without having to go outside because of Netflix, and amid intensifying competition, we wondered if we could create something new that can only be experienced by coming to the theater...]

The Seoul Arts Center, which recently established an outdoor business division, plans to host its first-ever "silent disco party," where participants dance while wearing wireless headphones.

President Chang Han-na stated that she aims to turn the Seoul Arts Center into a cultural and artistic destination where footsteps never stop all day long, as well as a hotspot for the MZ generation.

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

(Reported by Kim Soo-hyun | Produced by Lee Seyoung | Camera <br/>theatre> by Kim Se-kyung | Video Editing by Park Na-young | VJ: Oh Se-kwan | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.