NEW YORK -- The official opening of the Korean Center in New York on Thursday marks a significant milestone, years after the land for a larger center was purchased in 2009. It also coincides with Korean culture enjoying the global spotlight. The center houses the Korean Cultural Center, the Korea Tourism Organization, the Korea Creative Content Agency and the King Sejong Institute.
After Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing and Paris, it is the sixth such place where institutions promoting Korean culture are together in one building. Leading the Korean Cultural Center New York is seasoned brand expert Kim Cheon-soo with more than 30 years of experience at leading advertising agency Cheil Communication and CJ LiveCity, a CJ subsidiary specializing in arena and entertainment facilities. He was appointed as the center's director in March 2023, the third director to hail from the sector in its 45-year history.
“Now that this impressive hardware has been created, the challenge ahead will be deciding what programs and content to fill it with,” Kim told The Korea Herald during an interview on April 26. The 'hardware,' the building on 22 E 32nd St, New York, next to the Koreatown, did not come easily. The building was completed 14 years after the Culture Ministry, then also under the leadership of the current Culture Minister Yu In-chon, decided to purchase a 590 square meters piece of land, which was being used as a parking lot, for $15.
8 million. Originally scheduled to open i.
