Erasing Former Mayor Park Hyungjoon's Legacy... Pompidou Busan Branch Halted, La Scala Invitation Also on Hold

Jeon Jae-su Reconsiders Cultural Projects After Three Months of Deliberation

"Concerns Raised Over Environmental Damage at Igidae and Fiscal Burden"

Opera House Set to Officially Open in 2028

The project to build a Busan branch of the Centre Pompidou, 추진ed by the previous city administration, will be discontinued. In effect, Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-su has made the first move to erase a cultural project vigorously pursued by his predecessor, former Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon.

An invitation performance by Italy's Teatro alla Scala, planned to mark the opening of the Busan Opera House, will also not go ahead as currently planned. Citing environmental conservation, the fiscal burden, and the need to work in partnership with the local arts community, Busan Metropolitan City has changed the course of both projects.

Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Jeon Jae-su, announced on October 14 that it had made the decisions after gathering public input and conducting expert reviews over about three months, including at a town hall meeting on September 30. The city said it used public impact, public interest, fiscal sustainability, and administrative accountability as its criteria.

The proposed site at Igidae and the project terms were the main points of contention over the Busan branch of the Centre Pompidou. The Policy Review Group and the Cultural Cooperation Committee heard views that the project could boost tourism and enhance the city's brand. However, most opinions called for a review, citing concerns about environmental damage and whether the contract could ensure sufficient public benefit.

A feasibility study for the project estimated construction costs at about 110 billion won in city funds and annual operating costs at about 12.5 billion won. Busan Metropolitan City also took into account concerns that the economic analysis was not sufficiently reliable and that the project's role in supporting local artists and complementing existing art museums was unclear.

The city will address public demand for a world-class art museum in other ways. It plans to strengthen the exhibition, research, and collection capabilities of the Dongbusan Municipal Art Museum and the Seobusann Modern Art Museum, and expand exchanges with overseas museums. In the North Port area, it intends to build a multi-purpose cultural exhibition space, sought by the local arts community, using funding entirely from the national government.

Securing funding and preparing the venue became obstacles to the planned La Scala performance. The original plan was to raise 40% to 50% of the 10 billion won project budget through corporate donations and sponsorships, but the target was not met despite ongoing discussions with companies. Busan Metropolitan City concluded that it would be difficult to confirm the performance while funding remained uncertain.

The city also considered that concrete plans had not been developed for cooperation that would involve local artists and lead to education and talent development. The city said the Busan Opera House would need sufficient time not only to inspect its stage equipment and acoustics but also to prepare for trial performances and audience services to ensure it could reliably host large-scale opera productions.

The Busan Opera House is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. It is set to open officially in 2028, following facility safety and performance inspections in the first half of 2027 and trial performances in the second half. The opening festival will be developed with local artists and reflect Busan's history and everyday life. The city plans to build its in-house production capabilities, invite outstanding productions from overseas, and promote international exchanges, with the goal of developing the opera house into Asia's leading opera production venue.

Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-su said the city would reflect the expectations and suggestions expressed by residents during the deliberation process in its future cultural policies. He said the La Scala performance could be reconsidered once the opera house is operating stably and funding and cooperation plans are in place.

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