Culture is measured by the audience

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Culture is measured by the audience

Published: 29 Apr. 2025, 00:04

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Ryu Tae Hyung

The author is a senior specialist at Daewon Cultural Foundation.

On a day when spring rain gently soaked the earth, I listened to Mozart’s Oboe Quartet. Olivier Doise’s oboe playing was as vibrant as azaleas in full bloom. As the evening continued with performances of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending and Smetana’s Piano Trio, I found myself deeply immersed in the charm of chamber music. The performances by Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music artists — including violinists Kang Dong-suk, Kim Gye-hee, and Kim Dami, violist Lee Hwa-yoon, cellist Kang Seung-min and pianist Kim Young-ho — were all deeply reassuring. It was the opening concert of the Seoul Citizens' Arts School, held at the Seoul Chamber Hall on the fifth floor of the Seoul Arts Education Center in Seocho District.

The Seoul Citizens' Arts School is an open, inclusive space connecting the public to arts education. Operated by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, it began with the opening of the Yangcheon Center in 2016, followed by the Yongsan Center in 2020, the Gangbuk Center earlier this year, and now the Seocho Center in 2024. When the Eunpyeong Center opens this September, the five-branch network will be complete.

Each center specializes by genre: Yangcheon in visual and performing arts; Yongsan in literature, music and visual arts; Gangbuk in theater, musicals and traditional arts; Seocho in classical music; and Eunpyeong in dance. According to Song Hyung-jong, head of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, the centers are expected to serve over 110,000 participants.

The opening concert of the Seoul Citizens' Arts School, held at the Seoul Chamber Hall on the fifth floor of the Seoul Arts Education Center in Seocho District on April 19. [RYU TAE HYUNG]

The Seoul Arts Education Center in Seocho, dedicated to music, boasts distinctive facilities including a concert hall, ensemble rooms, practice rooms, program rooms, a masterclass hall and lounges. It also offers a range of tailored programs for beginners and enthusiasts alike. Among the notable courses are "Jin Eun-sook in Wonderland" by musicologist Lee Hee-kyung and conductor Choi Soo-yeol; a masterclass by soprano Park Hye-sang and music critic Jang Il-beom; "What does music mean to you?" by music columnist Lee Ji-young and pianist Kim Do-hyun; and "The score, made even more intricate through notation" by pop music critic Lim Hee-yoon and the ensemble Layers Classic. The Yongsan Center’s programs are equally popular, with courses like "Classical masterpieces deepened by classical literature" by critic Choi Eun-gyu and "In search of jazz" by jazz critic Hwang Deok-ho drawing early sellouts.

The vibrancy of performing arts depends on a triad: artists, venues and audiences. Today, as world-renowned K-classical performers shine on the international stage and dedicated classical venues like the Tongyeong International Music Hall, Bucheon Art Center and Busan Concert Hall open in succession, the remaining challenge is the cultivation of the audience. A discerning audience with good manners and deep understanding enriches the emotional reservoir of performances and powers a virtuous cycle of cultural growth through repeated engagement. This is precisely why arts education is now more crucial than ever.

Music, as a time-based art form, feels incomplete when experienced alone. Sharing the emotion multiplies the joy and extends its resonance. In each heart’s "music folder," layers of empathy, connection and memory accumulate. In Haruki Murakami’s novel "Norwegian Wood," there is a line: “If you read 'The Great Gatsby' three times, we can be friends.” Those who share a love for masterpieces are never truly alone.

A connoisseur is someone with deep knowledge and refined judgment in a particular field. Along with nurturing great performers and building magnificent concert halls, we must expand the number of connoisseurs through robust cultural and arts education. Only then will the foundation of the performing arts grow even stronger.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.