Two new theaters open in Seoul to promote arts

Two new theaters have opened in the capital.

CoexArtium in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, will open next Thursday and Haechi Hall held its opening festival in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, last Friday.

The theater in CoexArtium, designed to host musicals, is equipped with 808 seats that occupy two floors of the building.

At the gala opener last week, the Euro Asian Corporation performed highlights from Verdi’s “La Traviata,” followed by PMC Production’s non-verbal performance “Nanta.”

The opening show from next Thursday will be the musical “Brothers Were Brave.” “Legally Blonde: The Musical” is scheduled to run later in the year.

With the new launch, Samseong District is trying to position itself as a hub for cultural performances and art. It’s a well-known business area due to its vicinity to many hotels and conference venues.

And it’s a boon for this part of town because there are not that many performance halls here other than Seoul Arts Hall, located in Yangjae-dong.

“Unlike many other theaters, CoexArtium has easy access to the subway station, which encourages people to make the effort to go and see some live theater,” said Park Rae-choon, director of the marketing team at CoexArtium.

“We’ve also set up more toilets for women,” Park said, responding to an age-old complaint from women theatergoers.

Meanwhile, Haechi Hall, with 200 seats, located in M Plaza in Myeong-dong, seeks to preserve regional, historical and indigenous characteristics of Korean cultural performances to enhance cultural exchange and the understanding of tourists and Koreans living in Seoul.

Starting from next month, the hall will run a musical entitled “Puberty.”

By Kathy Yang Contributing Writer [estyle@joongang.co.kr]