The Gwangjin Cultural Foundation (Chairman Kim Kyung-ho) is set to establish itself as a central institution for cultural arts education for children and adolescents in Gwangjin-gu. The foundation has been selected as a new hub institution in the ‘2025 Dream Arts Troupe (Dance Troupe)’ competition organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts & Cultural Education Service, and will receive 400 million won in funding over the next five years.
The ‘2025 Dream Dance Troupe’ will be operated based on the soon-to-reopen Naru Art Center, a complex cultural arts center. The Gwangjin Cultural Foundation has secured the expertise of the project through an MOU with professional dance organizations and has established a stable arts education program. This will provide free arts education to children and adolescents in Gwangjin-gu and underserved communities.
In addition to being selected for the ‘2025 Dream Dance Troupe,’ the Gwangjin Cultural Foundation has also been chosen for the ‘2025 Regional Cooperative Cultural Arts Education Support Project’ operated by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture. This project includes a ballet education program for adults called ‘Naru Pyouvillemera (Naru Couple Nabilela),’ which aims to engage adults who previously had less access to cultural arts education by offering ballet classes that couples can attend together, thereby fostering communication and empathy through cultural arts.
The Gwangjin Cultural Foundation is expanding existing arts education programs, which were centered around music, theater, and visual arts, to prominently include dance as a major genre. Aiming to popularize ballet, a professional and systematic ballet education curriculum has been jointly planned in collaboration with the Korean Ballet Association, Little Angels Art Troupe, and Ballet STP Cooperative.
Through this, the foundation intends to make the arts a part of daily life for Gwangjin residents and will host performances after the educational process to provide participants with experiences as artistic creators. Recruitment for this project, which aims to realize ‘Happiness Flowing with the Arts in Gwangjin,’ will begin in April, with details available on the Gwangjin Cultural Foundation’s website.