Korean Air Will Build A Culture Center Instead Of a Hotel
Korean Air has dropped its initial plan to build a seven-star hotel beside Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul and plans to build a culture center instead.
Korean Air, the largest airline in South Korea, has bought the lot in Songhyeon-dong in 2008 from Samsung Life for W290 billion.
The Songhyeon-dong lot is surrounded by three schools - Duksung Girls' High School, Duksung Girls' Middle School and Pungmoon Girls' High School - but, as per law, building hotels and other lodging facilities near to schools are not allowed.
Critics, on the other hand, frown upon the idea, considering the area's cultural and historical significance. They also express general anti-chaebol sentiment.
On August 18, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism have announced that the Korean Air will build a cultural center instead. It will feature performance stages, stores and other facilities like Tokyo's Roppongi Hills and Shanghai's Xintiandi.
Managing director and head of Korean Air's materials division Jo Seong-bae said on Tuesday, "[Korean Air] will focus on the construction of the cultural center, as the construction of a lodging facility is impossible."
"[Korean Air] plans to contribute to the government's policy directive [of enriching people's lives through culture".
Tourists will know more about Korea and its culture, as the cultural center is a place they "will be able to experience everything Korean, with the focus on traditional Korean culture", Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok said.
The "K-Experience" cultural center will also "demonstrate and sell traditional Korean content," according to Kim.
Meanwhile, director of the Eunpyeong History Hanok Museum Hwang Pyeong-wu wants the government to guarantee "no hotel will ever be built on the site".
"Its announcement of a cultural complex is rather vague and I'm concerned it's only stage one for building a hotel," Hwang said. "The site is too important historically and culturally to be the site of a lodging facility."
