Chunma Art Center, Is It Fool’s Gold?
In Daegu, there are many large concert halls including the Keimyung Art Center, the Daegu Opera House, Kyungpook National University Auditorium and the Chunma Art Center. This is a good opportunity for citizens to enjoy some culture. However, the Chunma Art Center is in the red. Recently, the Chunma Art Center struggled to upgrade their various equipments and facilities. Many other obstacles are also blocking the Chunma Art Center now.
The Chunma Art Center cost 37 billion won to build to celebrate the 60th anniversary of YU in 2009. However, there was controversy that the Chunma Art Center didn’t have enough competition because it is far from Daegu and it is located at an inconvenient location on campus when the Chunma Art Center was built. Also, depreciation costs have been increasing, therefore accumulated deficit is running up to 1 billion won.
Parking Lot
Comparing with other stages in Daegu, the Chunma Art Center’s parking condition is poor. Other stages have their own parking lots, however the Chunma Art Center has no parking lot. The Chunma Art Center uses the side of the road or campus parking lot. It causes an inconvenience to pedestrians and passing cars.
Cafe
Recently, two Starbucks stores opened at YU. It caused a lot of controversies. One of them opened at the Chunma Art Center. To provide a quality brand coffee shop is the university’s idea, while, students say that the university did not consider students’ financial situation.
Comparison
Chunma Art Center
■ Scale: 2 basements, 7 stories Grand Hall (1,889 seats) Chamber Hall (510 seats) 37 bilion won was invested at the Chunma Art Center
■ Parking lot: No exclusive, using campus
Daegu Opera House
■ Scale: 2 basements, 4 stories 1,508 seats 44 bilion won was invested at the Daegu Opera House
■ Parking lot: Indoor (first, second basements): 132 cars Outdoor: 268 cars
Keimyung Art Center
■ Scale: 2 basements, 3 stories 1,954 seats 70 bilion won was invested at the Keimyung Art Center
■ Parking lot: Indoor (basement): 316 cars Outdoor: 116 cars
Kyungpook National University Auditorium
■ Scale: 1 basement, 3 stories First floor 1,512 seats, second floor 584 seats This auditorium was remodeled last year, and it cost 9.7 bilion won
■ Parking lot: Using campus
Q & A with Chunma Art Center Team
Q) Additional facilities are not being used to its full potential. What are the plans for improvement?
A) The restaurant on the second story was shut down because of deficits. Now, we selected a new restaurant and it will open soon. We will provide good service.
Q) People have said comparing with other Daegu stages; the Chunma Art Center has low competition. What’s the big problem with the Chunma Art Center?
A) We think the most important thing is to have the basic facilities available as a concert hall. However, the YU Chunma Art Center has many obstacles to meet that standard. For example, some guests wonder about the third story of the Chunma Art Center. Despite it being a concert hall, it is used as a YU faculty assembly. Also, many guests and students experience an inconvenience regarding the parking problem. Honestly, there were no plans to make a parking lot at the Chunma Art Center. We are continuously proposing to build a parking lot but it is proceeding with difficulty.
The Chunma Art Center, which was to celebrate the 60th anniversary, lacks convenient facilities compared to other concert halls in Daegu, especially the parking lot; there is no proper solution. A way to improve competitiveness is to use the center for what it was built for and emphasize that the Chunma Art Center is the biggest concert hall at Gyeongsan. Also the university needs to improve the Chunma Art Center by taking extra efforts to promote the facilities of the center as a great cultural space for students and local residents.