Chungmuro, a street in downtown Seoul a half mile east of Myeong-dong, will become a Korean pop culture theme street under a $20 million project announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The street will be remodeled after Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame and Hong Kong’s Star Street.
Chungmuro has been associated with the film industry since 1907 when it became the site of Korea’s first movie theater. It was considered home to the Korean film industry until the past decade when most of it migrated to the newer, more upscale Gangnam district south of the Han River.
Plans call for the entire 800 meter (1/2 mile) length of the street to be lined with stars’ name plates, hand prints, movie posters, memorabilia collections and several exhibition and experience spaces. By combining hi-tech capabilities with cultural history, the Ministry hopes to turn Chumgmuro into an immersion experience into the Korean Wave and not merely a backdrop for tourist snapshots.
The plans also call for transforming the surrounding neighborhood — which has fallen into slow decline — into a revitalized mecca for publishing and popular culture. An agreement with the owner of Myungbo Art Hall calls for the 23,000-square-foot theater to be converted into a “Korean Wave experience center” that will house a museum, bookstore, cafe and shops. Other venues like the Dongguk University Media Center and the Freedom Center on Namsan will also be included as stops on the Chungmuro Korean Wave theme street. Nearby Korea House in Pil-dong, which has long been a mandatory stop for foreign dignitaries, will be spruced up and repositioned as the venue for Korean cuisine and traditional culture for Chungmuro visitors.
The Ministry had also considered COEX, a large-scale modern convention center in Gangnam, for the project. It chose Chungmuro because it is less than a mile from other major tourist attractions like the vibrant Myeong-dong fashion district, lush Namsan Park and the Cheonggye Stream public space.
“Chungmuro has the cultural assets of film and song, while Myeong-dong is the heart of shopping and design,” said a Ministry official. The Chungmuro neighborhood also has other cultural venues like the Namsangol Hanok Village and the National Theater of Korea. The Daehan Theater has been a Seoul landmark since 1955. Today it is a 9-story entertainment complex with eight screens, an extensive food court and a rooftop cafe.
About $4.5 mil. is slated to be spent on construction next year. The project is scheduled for completion in 2014.
