WEBZINE ACC

The National Asian Culture Center (ACC), grand and beautiful like a tree deeply rooted in the land of Gwangju, extends its robust trunk toward Asia and the world. Since its opening in November 2015, the ACC has grown into a deeply rooted tree that blends harmoniously with the city of Gwangju. As it approaches its 10th anniversary next year, the ACC strives to become a “window of Asian culture to the world.” The ACC’s efforts to transform into an accessible cultural space with a low threshold stand out amid numerous changes and challenges.

As of March, the ACC’s cumulative visitor count reached 16.3 million people, with 2.5 million visitors recorded last year (Source: ACC). Exhibitions like “Dear Baba-Nyonya” and “Connectivity Construction” quickly reached 100,000 visitors. The “Hanul Madang” garden saw nearly 390,000 visitors last year, making it a popular cultural and artistic space for youth. Beyond visitor numbers, the ACC is growing with the region in all areas, including exhibitions, performances, education, events, and festivals. It has become more than just a cultural space; it is where everyone can easily visit, rest, and stay at any time. These achievements result from the ACC’s continuous efforts to get closer to its visitors, building on each small success to achieve greatness.

The launch of the “ACC Customer Value Proposal Committee” in 2024 marks a significant step toward capturing the new customer values the ACC should pursue based on customer feedback. Following last year’s process of recruiting “Task Identification Groups” among ACC staff members to discover services needed by customers, this year’s committee was organized to take these results further and listen directly to customers’ opinions. Lee In-sun, Manager of the Planning & Operations Division, who organized the “Customer Value Proposal Committee” and continues to communicate with customers, has high expectations for the project.

• Lee In-sun | Assistant Director, ACC Planning & Operations Division

  “By putting together the Task Identification Group last year, we implemented meticulous service reforms through voluntary participation and horizontal communication among our customer contact staff. We found that the rate at which the customers utilized the services we had identified through the program was quite high, confirming their effectiveness. This year, we are expanding the project to form a committee that visitors from all walks of life can take part in. We hope to use that committee to improve customer services in the short term and discover and develop customer values unique to the ACC in the longer term. The Customer Value Proposal Committee will be an active and engaged participant with the ACC, creating meaning and value together with the Center.”

The Customer Value Proposal Committee is composed of 10 members who differ in age, profession, and nationality. It includes students in their 20s, journalists and self-employed business owners in their 30s, office workers in their 40s and 50s, retirees in their 60s, and international students from Spain and Kyrgyzstan. Despite their differences, they all share a love and care for the National Asia Cultural Center. Nominated by employees from all departments, these members will serve until the end of the year, helping to shape the values and direction of the organization. This committee represents not only the customers who receive services but also those who take part in and create meaning together with the Center.

• Lee Kanghyun | President, National Asian Culture Center

  “The ACC has formed the Customer Value Proposal Committee because we want to better respect our customers’ values and lower the Center’s to become a proper cultural hangout that goes beyond the region and the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Area. We have gathered our esteemed participants here to create a barrier-free cultural space that many people can really feel comfortable in and easily access. We will listen to the experiences and suggestions our participants share and actively reflect them in the operation of the ACC.”

“2024 Customer Value Proposal Committee”
Appointment Ceremony and Meeting

“National Asian Culture Center Spatial Identity Visualization Device” On-Site Tour

The ACC Customer Value Proposition Committee 2024 gathered for the first time, holding a ceremony to present the committee members with their letters of appointment. Before the committee meeting, an on-site tour was conducted to explore a special place in the ACC: the “National Asian Culture Center Spatial Identity Visualization Device,” which was revealed to the public for the first time. The ACC created this new visual identifier in response to feedback that the subterranean nature of the ACC’s architecture made it difficult to examine and find from the outside. A total of 11 devices, ranging from entrance number signs to ACC organization names and portrait images, are located throughout the ACC, showcasing the ACC’s sincere commitment to making the ACC more accessible and the visitors’ time more convenient.

Deep interest and love toward the ACC
A wish to keep reputation of the ACC

The “ACC Customer Value Proposal Committee” convened its first meeting enthusiastically, bringing together members who share deep love for the ACC. Experiences, memories, feelings, and thoughts accumulated while visiting the ACC poured out one by one. Various ideas and opinions were exchanged as different as the color palette of each member’s life. Some of the stories include how one became an “ambassador” to the ACC among acquaintances after visiting the ACC frequently, having been an office worker in Gwangju for a long time, how one came to the exhibition after seeing a promotional poster in one’s apartment by chance and was moved by the docent’s kindness; how one would visit the ACC before heading to the May 18th National Cemetery whenever one’s out-of-town friends came to visit Gwangju; a photographer who enjoys the outdoor space of the National Asian Culture Center more than the performances and exhibitions held inside; an international student from Kyrgyzstan who came to Korea to study abroad and was able to get closer to the unfamiliar field of art and culture through the National Asian Culture Center... With these small steps, they now want to stand by and protect the National Asian Culture Center with even greater interest and affection. Let’s hear from the ACC’s Customer Value Proposal Committee for 2024 to find out what the ACC looks like now through the eyes of ordinary citizens rather than that of experts.

• Yeon Bitna | Announcer, Gwangju MBC

  “I like the exhibitions and performances at the ACC, but my favorite feature of the ACC is the space and the architecture. The idea of the “Forest of Light” by architect Kyu Sung Woo is amazing, as is how the skylight delivers natural light into the building and the way the building is built underground. There are so many interesting stories to be found here. Many people say that the building is complex and difficult to navigate, but perhaps the experience of wandering in the complex building can be content for the ACC. I think it would be great if more people could get to know the stories captured in the ACC building.”

• Aidana | International student from Kyrgyzstan, master’s student in Chonnam National University Global Diaspora Studies department

  “I’ve been living in Gwangju for the last eight years, and I first visited the ACC in 2019. I wasn’t very familiar with art and culture, but through the ACC, I developed an interest in it. What I find unfortunate is that my expat friends don’t really know much about the ACC. I think the ACC could offer training programs for international students to help them understand the space and the historical significance of Gwangju.”

• Kim Ji-young | 40s, manager of an out-of-school time institute

  “I often visit the ACC with my acquaintances. But when I look around my acquaintance circle, I see that quite a lot of people have not visited the ACC, even though they live in Gwangju. So I think that the ACC could benefit from having more ‘rest’ spaces where one can visit freely and have some quality time, rather than being a place where one visits only for exhibitions and performances. Perhaps hobby group programs for the general public could help draw more visitors to the ACC.”

• Oh Soon-ji | Self-employed, 30s

  “As I came across good experiences with the exhibition programs at the ACC, I became more interested in them and eventually looked out for the latest news on the ACC and the programs. So I think the first visit to the ACC is very important, and I think it would be good to continue increasing the opportunities for first visits in many ways so that more people can find their way to them.”

• Jeong Eun-yeong | Head, ACC Planning & Operations Division

  “At the end of the day, I think it’s people’s engagement and love that makes the ACC sustainable, and I’m really hopeful that today’s meeting with the Customer Value Proposal Committee will mark the start of a community that will take the care and love they have for the ACC and shape it into something new.”

The “ACC Customer Value Proposal Committee,” which took the first step with the first meeting, will participate in regular meetings and special programs until this December, guiding the ACC’s journey to discover new customer values. Every value cherished by the members will hopefully become the new values of the ACC and eventually become a stepping stone for others to take toward the ACC. Even today, the ACC waits for stories of its customers as a way to redefine itself as an open, barrier-free art and cultural space for all.