The streets are lined with 160 or so small theaters within a 2.5km radius, where close to 2,000 plays, musicalsand dance performances are staged every year. On any given day, there are some 150 shows to choose from. These account for about80 percent of Korea’s total theater revenues, involving 70 percent of all stage actors in the nation. This is Daehangno, or“university street,” which represents the ground zero of cultural and artistic pursuits in Seoul.
Back alleys in the heart of Daehangno. With the increase in small theaters staging lighthearted rom-com plays that appeal to popular tastes, theaters adhering to more serious fare with a social message have moved to the outskirts of the district, giving rise to the term “off-Daehangno.”
Known as the “theater mecca” of Korea, Daehangno bustles with people who come to enjoy plays or musicals or just to stroll along the streets and soak up the ambience, especially on carfree weekends. But the area was not originally planned as a theater district. Keijo Imperial University was once located here, during the first half of the 20th century, when Korea was under Japanese occupation [Keijo, or Gyeongseong in Korean, was the colonial-era name of Seoul]. And when the nation was liberated, Seoul National University opened in its place. In 1975, after the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and College of Law moved to the current Gwanak campus, the school build- ings were demolished.
However, the modern red brick building that had housed the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was spared, together with three horse chestnut trees (marronnier),which remain as historic symbols of the former university site. A park was d at this site, which people began to call Marronnier Park.
Arko Arts Theater’s outdoor stage symbolizes the youth and 1 freedom of Daehangno.
Daehangno embodies the passion and vision of Korea’s culture and arts community. Here, trendsin the local performing arts scene can be spotted and assessed. But above all, Daehangno is the cradle for young actorsand would-be actors to hone their skills, suffering setbacks at times but never giving up their dreams.
The Mecca of Korean Theater
Red brick buildings were built around the park. Theyinclude Munye Theater (current Arko Arts Theater),which opened in 1981 and played a pivotal role in thearea’s development into Korea’s theatrical hub. Duringthe 1980s, Samtoh Blue Bird Theater and MarronnierTheater also opened, and 10 or so small theatersfrom the college district of Sinchon, like Batangol SmallTheater, Dongsoong Art Center, Yeonwoo Theater, and Daehangno Theater, relocated here in search of lowerrents. With major culture and arts organizations, suchas the Arts Council Korea and the National TheaterAssociation of Korea also settling in the area, Daehangnoquickly became a cultural center. Around thistime, regulations on the establishment and operationof small theaters in downtown Seoul were also eased,leading to the mushrooming of small-scale theaters,theater groups, and various cultural facilities.
When the Seoul Metropolitan Government officiallyadopted the name Daehangno in 1985, it hoped to a global cultural destination like Montmartre inParis, once the world’s mecca of modern art, Tokyo’sfashion hotspot Harajuku, and London’s Piccadilly Circus.As Daehangno has now become a theater districtwidely known among performing artists around theworld, the city’s ambitious plans can be said to havereached fruition.
Posters covering the entire wall lure passers-by into the theaters.
Upon its designation as a car-free zone on weekends, the streets of Daehangno came alive with a great variety of cultural activities. Numerous exhibitions, performances, folk games, and poetry readings were held in the square in front of the Arts Council Korea building, and the theater district earned further fame as a street of festivals and youthful exuberance. A range of cultural facilities and amenities, such as iconic sculptures, poster bulletin boards, ticket boxes, streetlamps, and benches, were installed on the streets. With outdoor performances at Marronnier Park luring crowds throughout the week, Daehangno firmly established itself as the center of live performing arts offering a diversity of attractions all year round.
A scene from “The Wizard of Oz Fantasy,” a family musical staged by Play of Art 21, which won the theatrical art award at the 12th ASSITEJ Korea Winter Festival, Seoul 2016, held January 7–16.
Larger and More Diverse Audiences
If this high-energy district was popular with mainly the twenty-something crowd in the past, it now attracts diverse age groups. Although young people still dominate the scene, there has been a noticeable rise in families with children and middle-aged couples thanks to the variety and abundance of attractions on offer.
Tourists visiting nearby Naksan Park or Ihwa Village, known for its murals, head to Daehangno to explore the streets or watch a show. The Filipino flea market held every Sunday in front of the cathedral at Hyehwa-dong rotary is another unique attraction. Migrant workers from the Philippines gather here to socialize and sell a variety of products, from their native foods to electric appliances and miscellaneous goods. Dubbed “Little Manila,” this exotic marketplace has been drawing crowds for over 20 years.
Recently, Daehangno has been playing host to international performing arts festivals all year round, bringing together artists from every corner of the world. In January, the ASSITEJ Festival for children and adolescents kicks the year off, followed by the New Stage and the ARKO Young Art Frontier for budding young artists. In March, the Asia Theater Directors’ Workshop is held, and the winning plays of the spring literary contests sponsored by major Korean dailies are put on stage. From April to May, the Seoul Theater Festival is staged, followed by the Seoul Marginal Theatre Festival in July to August, the Daehangno Street Performance Festival in September, and the Seoul Performing Arts Festival and the Daehangno Small Theater Festival in October and November. With such a diversity of festivals and events being presented on a continuous basis, the area is constantly abuzz with creative energy.
Indeed, Daehangno embodies the passion and vision of Korea’s culture and arts community. Here, trends in the local performing arts scene can be spotted and assessed. The area thus plays a lead role in shaping the direction of the government’s cultural and arts policy. But above all, Daehangno is the cradle for young actors and would-be actors to hone their skills, suffering setbacks at times but never giving up their dreams.
Ihwa Village is located between the backstreets of Marronnier Park and Naksan Park. The old walls and steps in the alleyways have emerged as a popular tourist attraction since they were painted over with murals as part of a public art project.
한국국제교류재단
