Bang Si-hyuk Donates $3.6M to Seoul National University Cultural Center Reconstruction 2025
HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk's ₩5 billion contribution funds major cultural facility upgrade at his alma mater as demolition ceremony marks project start.
Seoul National University held its groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for a new cultural arts complex, funded by a ₩5 billion ($3.6 million) donation from HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk. The evening ceremony at SNU's Gwanak campus marked both the farewell to the 1984-built facility and the start of construction on a modern cultural hub.
Faculty, students and major donors attended the 6 PM ceremony, though Bang couldn't attend due to overseas business commitments. The BTS producer behind HYBE Corporation made the donation in January 2023, calling it an investment in Korea's cultural future.
"I experienced that help received from society is a great nutrient for a person to grow," Bang said when announcing the gift. The university plans to create a "Bang Si-hyuk Lounge" in the renovated center to honor his contribution.
The rebuilt cultural center will feature cutting-edge performance spaces:
- 1,000-seat vineyard-style concert hall with audience surrounding the stage
- 300-seat black-box theater for experimental performances
- Gallery and community spaces supporting SNU's campus strategy
The project targets completion in the second half of 2028 and will replace SNU's main cultural venue that has hosted performances, exhibitions and lectures for four decades.
This donation extends Bang's substantial charitable giving since 2020. In October 2022, he donated ₩5 billion to the Community Chest of Korea specifically targeting underprivileged teenagers who lack educational opportunities.
His other major contributions include:
- ₩200 million to Save the Children for Turkey-Syria earthquake relief
- ₩200 million to SNU's startup fund using his Pony Chung Innovation Award prize money
- ₩50 million to the Yoo Jae-ha Music Scholarship Foundation
Bang's total charitable giving has exceeded ₩10 billion since 2020, making him one of Korea's most active philanthropists in entertainment.
As the architect of BTS's global success and South Korea's only entertainment industry billionaire, Bang views the cultural center as crucial infrastructure for developing Korea's next generation of cultural leaders.
The renovation represents more than facility upgrades-it signals major investment in cultural education at Korea's most prestigious university. With K-pop and Korean culture gaining worldwide influence, the new center positions SNU to train tomorrow's cultural innovators.
SNU's existing cultural center has served as the campus's primary performance venue since the 1980s. The upgraded facility will significantly expand the university's capacity to host major cultural events and provide students with professional-grade spaces for artistic development.
The project reflects Bang's philosophy of creating positive cycles where successful individuals reinvest in institutions that shaped them, enabling future generations to achieve similar success and continue the pattern of giving back.
