A disused industrial facility in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, has been reborn as a cultural and arts space, emerging as a new pillar of regional tourism.
According to Yeoncheon County on Thursday, the exhibition "THE MOMENT LIFE ARRIVES," being held at the Eundae-ri Culture Brick Factory, surpassed a cumulative 10,000 visitors within one month of its opening. That is more than twice as fast as last year, when it took two months to reach 5,000 visitors after the factory first opened.
The Eundae-ri Culture Brick Factory is a former industrial facility that once produced bricks. Long left as an idle space, it was regenerated into a cultural complex through Yeoncheon County's tourism resource development project. It first opened last year, and after completing its first exhibition through January this year, it welcomed visitors with a new exhibition following about three months of renovation.
The current exhibition features veteran and senior artists including Park Suk-won, who has shaped the major currents of Korean contemporary sculpture, along with Lee Hyung-woo and Hong Sung-do. Young artists who showcase a contemporary sensibility also participated, completing a composition that spans generations and media.
What draws attention is that a high-quality contemporary art exhibition has generated strong viewing demand in a border region long considered lacking a cultural and artistic foundation. It is regarded as a case demonstrating that cultural and artistic content, on top of Yeoncheon's natural heritage and tourism resources, can serve as a new motivation for visiting the region.
"Having 10,000 visitors within one month of reopening is a meaningful result that confirms the potential of regional cultural spaces," a Yeoncheon County official said. "We will continue to offer various exhibitions and programs so that it establishes itself as an open cultural and arts platform that both Yeoncheon residents and visitors can enjoy together."
