Old Seoul Station reborn as modern culture center

By Oh Seok-min
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- A landmark train station in downtown Seoul has been reborn as an integrated art and cultural space after two years of extensive restoration, the culture ministry said Tuesday.
"Cultural Station Seoul 284," remodeled from the Old Seoul Station, was formally dedicated in a ceremony and is expected to accommodate a variety of cultural and art events, ministry officials said.
The Old Seoul Station, a Renaissance-style two-story building which was constructed in 1925 and survived the 1950-53 Korean War, has been closed since 2004 when Seoul built a new high-speed railway station right next to it.
The number 284 in the name comes from its registration number as the country's historic site by the Korean government in 1981.



"The rebirth of the Old Seoul Station as an art space while regaining its historic splendor is quite encouraging in terms of the globalization of the Korean culture," said Culture Minister Choung Byoung-gug in an opening ceremony.
"The government will constantly support (the maintenance of) the landmark, as it will well serves as a venue for the public as well as a gateway for the nation's culture to the world," he added.
The first and second floors, which remain mostly intact, were renovated as multi-purpose halls for exhibitions, conferences, and archives, while the basement with less preservation value has undergone a more drastic sprucing-up, according to the Korea Craft and Design Foundation which will manage the landmark for the next five years.



The transformation of the time-honored building is part of Seoul's efforts to shift landmark structures built by Japan during the colonial era into museums in a symbolic gesture to come to terms with the dark history.
graceoh@yna.co.kr