Greetings from the ACH
New Year’s address from the director-general of the ACH
The year of the white cow, 2021, has arrived. Given the nature of our times, I hope that everyone who loves and supports the ACH can enjoy a year of good physical and mental health.
2020 was an especially difficult year for everyone because of COVID-19. The ACH experienced a number of firsts, most of which were unpleasant, such as repeatedly having to close our facilities because of strengthened social distancing, introducing an advance reservation system, and limiting the number of visitors allowed in an exhibition space at one time. Despite this unprecedented public health crisis, the ACH strived to consistently promote the cultures of the ten ASEAN countries to Korean citizens and foreigners living in Korea by developing contactless projects that can be safely carried out even while the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
We currently offer an online exhibition space on the ACH website so that visitors do not have to visit the ACH in person and can experience ASEAN cultures regardless of time or place. The ACH’s YouTube channel offers videos of previous performances and culture lectures for convenient viewing by all. Each time we were forced to close the ACH to the public, we decided to utilize the time for facility renovation and posting safety notices so that visitors could return to a new and improved ACH once we opened our doors again.
On the occasion of the third birthday of the ACH, we created a mid-to-long-term strategic plan based on what was accomplished over the past couple of years, which includes a new vision, strategies for how we plan to evolve in the future, and projects of interest. Based on an analysis of the over 400 events, large and small, that the ACH hosts each year (exhibitions, cultural performances, movie screenings, lectures, interactive cultural programs, etc.), we will be strengthening our “signature” projects and create a new research and archiving function to provide an even broader pool of information on ASEAN countries. We will also redesign our physical spaces as part of our efforts to constantly adapt, change and grow the ACH. We will expand both exchanges with ASEAN countries and the scope of ACH projects on a national scale in order to transform the ACH into a highly-specialized cultural platform.
ASEAN is a partner that Korea will be working with even more closely in the coming years. Unfortunately, most Koreans do not yet have a very sophisticated understanding of ASEAN countries or the importance of Korea’s relationship with them. Thus far, 80,000 people have visited the ACH to learn more about ASEAN countries’ cultures. We firmly believe that we are responsible for turning this (albeit modest) show of interest into a much wider-reaching promotion of ASEAN cultures, both in- and outside of our walls. The ACH will work even harder to repay the support of ASEAN countries for Korean culture, such as K-pop, with a genuine and larger showing of interest in ASEAN cultures.
In 2021, the ACH will continue to advance its role as a cultural platform of communication and partnership that links Korea with ASEAN by working more closely with ASEAN-related institutions in Korea and overseas and play a key role in cultural and people-to-people exchanges between Korea and ASEAN. Once again, may you and your families be blessed with good health and happiness this year.
Park Mi-Sook
Director-general of ASEAN Culture House
KOREA FOUNDATION
