Seoul Arts Center

Five buildings on a terraced site in Seocho, at the southern edge of Seoul, make up the country's central arts complex. The Music Hall and the calligraphy museum opened first, in 1988; the Opera House followed in 1993, its roof curved and brimmed in imitation of the gat, the horsehair hat of the Joseon scholar. Under one administration the site holds a concert hall, a recital hall, an opera house, a drama theatre and three museums, and it is the working home of the Korea National Opera, the Korea National Ballet, the National Chorus of Korea and the Korean Symphony Orchestra. The calligraphy museum is unusual even among national institutions — a public gallery given over entirely to brush and ink. The concert hall's year runs from resident orchestral seasons through visiting ensembles from Europe and North America, and the complex as a whole is where Korean audiences meet the international circuit without leaving the city.