Pyeongtaek Bids to Host National Gugak Center Gyeonggi Branch... "Aiming to Be a K-Gugak Creative Hub"

Abundant Traditional Arts Assets, Including Pyeongtaek Nongak, Gyeonggi Sinawi, and Junggoje Pansori

“Should Become a Hub for Research, Education, and International Exchange Across All 31 Cities and Counties of Gyeonggi”

Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province, has launched efforts to attract the National Gugak Center Gyeonggi Branch. The city argues that, with a population of 14 million in Gyeonggi Province and no existing affiliated institution of the National Gugak Center, the Gyeonggi Branch should be established in Pyeongtaek, which boasts abundant traditional arts assets and related infrastructure.

Pyeongtaek City held the "2026 Ji Younghee Academic Forum" on the 26th of last month at the Pyeongtaek City Southern Culture and Arts Center under the theme "The Necessity and Challenges of Establishing the Gyeonggi Branch of the National Gugak Center." Provided by Pyeongtaek City

On the 26th of last month, Pyeongtaek City held the "2026 Ji Younghee Academic Conference" at the Pyeongtaek Southern Culture and Arts Center under the theme "The Need and Challenges for Establishing the National Gugak Center Gyeonggi Branch," it announced on the 3rd. The event was hosted by Pyeongtaek City and organized by the Ji Younghee Memorial Project Association.

The conference featured presentations from Seung-guk Kim, Director of the Institute for Traditional Culture Contents, and Sung-bok Park, Director of the Pyeongtaek Studies Research Institute, among others. They discussed the necessity of establishing the Gyeonggi Branch and highlighted Pyeongtaek’s strengths.

Pyeongtaek is the center of the Giho cultural sphere, where Gyeonggi and Chungcheong cultures intersect. Numerous artists who left their mark on the history of Korean traditional arts—including Ji Younghee, known as the "Father of Folk Music," as well as Mo Heung-gap, Lee Dong-baek, Yoo Segi, and Bang Yong-hyun—were either born in or were active in Pyeongtaek.

Pyeongtaek is also rich in traditional arts assets, such as Pyeongtaek Nongak—a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity—Pyeongtaek folk songs, Gyeonggi Sinawi, Junggoje Pansori, and Utdari Nongak. The city is home to extensive gugak infrastructure and ensembles, including the Korea Sound Center, Ji Younghee Gugak Hall, Pyeongtaek City Intangible Cultural Heritage Training Center, and Pyeongtaek City Gugak Orchestra.

Seung-guk Kim emphasized, "The preservation, succession, and promotion of gugak is a cultural policy duty that must be fulfilled by both the nation and local governments." He pointed out that "the absence of a national gugak institution in Gyeonggi Province, considering its population and traditional arts resources, is an issue that needs to be addressed in terms of cultural rights and balanced development."

Kim also noted that Pyeongtaek serves as a strategic transportation hub connecting the Seoul metropolitan area and the Chungcheong region. He explained that the city fulfills requirements for national intangible heritage, professional arts organizations, and international city status. He stressed that the Gyeonggi Branch should not simply replicate the functions of existing branches, but rather serve as a hub for gugak creation and modernization, a creative performance center, and a global base for K-traditional culture.

Sung-bok Park underscored Pyeongtaek’s traditional arts lineage and historical identity. He stated, "Pyeongtaek is a place where various traditional arts such as Junggoje Pansori, Sadaangpae (itinerant theatrical troupes), Utdari Nongak, and Gyeonggi Sinawi flourished." He further suggested, "By linking the new Gyeonggi Branch with existing cultural facilities and arts organizations, we can create a more efficient national gugak hub rather than focusing solely on new infrastructure projects."

In particular, the cultural legacy of Ji Younghee, a modern and contemporary gugak pioneer born in Pyeongtaek, was cited as a major rationale for attracting the branch to the city. Ji Younghee systematized and transcribed traditional music that had been transmitted orally, and contributed to the development of gugak education and orchestras.

Participants proposed that the Gyeonggi Branch should be based in Pyeongtaek but operate as a broad institution encompassing all 31 cities and counties of Gyeonggi Province. Their vision is to use Pyeongtaek as a hub while researching, discovering, and fostering creative connections among gugak resources from Osan's Gyeonggi Jeincheong, Suwon, Hwaseong, Gwangju, Gwangmyeong, Bucheon, Anseong, and other areas.

Eun-ok Park, Chair of the Welfare and Environment Committee of the Pyeongtaek City Council, called for a step-by-step strategy: conducting a feasibility study, turning it into a Gyeonggi Province policy agenda, reflecting it in national plans, and securing central government funding. She also emphasized that the Ji Younghee commemoration project should expand beyond simple memorialization to include research, education, creation, and globalization.

Sang-mo Kim, Director of Culture and International Affairs for Pyeongtaek City, stated, "The Gyeonggi Branch should not replace Pyeongtaek’s existing gugak assets, but rather act as a partner that adds the state’s research, educational, performance, and creative capabilities to the region’s accumulated assets." He also highlighted the importance of a public discourse process that would allow citizens to participate in the establishment efforts.

Jae-geun Joo, adjunct professor at Hanyang University, suggested that the Gyeonggi Branch should be specialized as a gugak hub for Gyeonggi, a platform for gugak creation and fusion, and a base for future generation education and international exchange in K-gugak.

There were also proposals to utilize Pyeongtaek’s international infrastructure to globalize gugak. Yong-ho Kim, Artistic Director of the Gwangju Metropolitan Changgeuk Company, proposed foreigner-focused gugak education, international artist residencies, and overseas co-productions utilizing Camp Humphreys, the Pyeongtaek-Osan US Air Force Bases, and Pyeongtaek Port.

Sang-gu Kang, professor at Seoul Institute of the Arts, stressed that the Gyeonggi Branch must have distinct functions that only it can perform. He also stated that Pyeongtaek’s historical resources—including figures such as Ji Younghee—should be developed into content that citizens and youth can experience directly.

Participants said that, going forward, Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province, the political community, the gugak field, and civil society should jointly pursue feasibility studies, national plan inclusion, and central government budget acquisition. They also highlighted the need to provide an objective comparison with other candidate cities and to specifically detail organizational structure, staffing, budget, program offerings, and expected economic and social impacts.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.