Kookmin University (President Jung Seung-ryul) signed a business agreement for mutual cooperation with the National Gugak Center on Tuesday, March 4 at Kookmin University's Main Building, Room 203.

With this agreement, the two organizations are expected to collaborate on △gugak education and performance viewing to promote and spread gugak △joint development and operation of gugak-related education and research programs △mutual exchange of lectures and personnel △joint use of facilities and research equipment.

The College of Music at Kookmin University, which is composed of majors that cover various genres of music, including vocal music, orchestral music, composition, and piano, provides the best educational infrastructure, including a concert hall, practice rooms, and practice studios, so that students can demonstrate their creativity and improve their professional skills. As a result of these efforts, the center has been selected as the commissioned operator of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's “Center for Creative Character Education” and is pioneering innovative art education through business agreements with domestic and international professional institutions and organizations.

The National Gugak Center, a national music institution that opened in 1951, has been faithfully passing on the traditional music and dance that our people have cultivated over the course of its long history, and providing various opportunities for cultural enjoyment so that the whole nation can enjoy them.

Kookmin University President Chung Seung-ryul said, “This is a great opportunity for Kookmin University, which is leading the arts and culture of Korea based on its excellent infrastructure, to collaborate with the National Gugak Center,” and added, “I hope that this will be a step forward for both institutions in the development of gugak.”

Kang Dae-geum, the acting president of the National Gugak Center, said, “We will take the lead in making gugak more familiar to the public through collaboration with Kookmin University, which has competitiveness in various music genres,” and expressed his ambition, saying, “We will contribute together to the spread of traditional Korean culture.”

Meanwhile, the MOU signing ceremony was attended by Kim Hyung-jin, Vice President of Education at Kookmin University, Ok Sang-hoon, Dean of the College of Arts, Kim Hee-sun, Professor of the College of Liberal Arts, Kim Sung-hye, Dean of the College of Music, Kang Dae-geum, Acting Director of the National Gugak Center, Song Sang-hyuk, Acting Director of the Gugak Promotion Division, and Chun Hyun-sik, Curator of the Gugak Promotion Division, who discussed step-by-step strategies and specific mutual cooperation plans for full-scale cooperation in the future.

▲ Photo Description: Left: KIM, HYOUNG-JIN, Vice President of Education at Kookmin University, Right: Kang Dae-geum, Acting Director of the National Gugak Center