Seoul Cultural Heritage Center Hoengseong, pilot operation ahead of official opening in September

The city of Seoul announced on the 22nd that it will run a pilot operation of 'Seoul Cultural Heritage Center Hoengseong', an integrated storage facility scheduled to officially open in September this year, from the 23rd of this month to the 22nd of next month.

Seoul Cultural Heritage Center Hoengseong is Seoul City's first integrated storage center built to systematically manage the city's museum and art gallery collections and strengthen the functions of preserving, researching, and sharing cultural heritage. It is located in Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do.

The maximum size of the collection is 720,000 pieces, and 70,000 pieces are currently stored. It has systems and facilities for securing, preserving, and researching cultural heritage.

This pilot operation is intended to inspect the overall facility and collect opinions from citizens prior to the official opening, and will open public spaces such as open storage, exhibition halls, and data rooms free of charge. Operating hours are 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and closed every Monday.

In the past, you had to visit individual museums or art galleries to see ancient art, traditional crafts, modern and contemporary art, as well as cultural heritage of the Gangwon region all in one place.

The open storage will display approximately 2,600 pieces from the collections of museums and art galleries in Seoul in the form of a viewing storage. Unlike regular exhibition halls, you can view the collections in an actual storage environment.

An outdoor exhibition hall measuring approximately 5,700 m2 will feature 26 modern sculptures. Any local residents or visitors can use it freely.

During this pilot period, a tour program that tours major spaces while listening to commentary from a curator will also be operated upon prior application. Reservations are accepted through the Seoul Public Service Reservation website.

Kim Tae-hee, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's cultural headquarters, said, "Seoul Cultural Heritage Center Hoengseong was created as a cultural space that citizens and the local community can enjoy together, beyond a space to preserve cultural heritage." He added, "Through this pilot operation, we will collect various opinions from citizens and experts and prepare for an official opening with a more complete appearance."