Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, has donated 5 billion won to his alma mater, Seoul National University, for the 'Cultural Center Construction Fund,' which will be used for the reconstruction of the new cultural center.
Seoul National University will hold a 'Cultural Center Demolition Ceremony and Groundbreaking Ceremony' at 6 p.m. on the 3rd in front of the main auditorium of the Seoul National University Cultural Center in Gwanak-gu to commemorate the demolition of the existing cultural center and announce the beginning of a new cultural and artistic complex space. The event will include professors and students from Seoul National University, as well as the donor of the Cultural Center Construction Fund and their families. Chairman Bang will not attend due to business commitments overseas.
The Cultural Center Construction Fund was established to transform the Cultural Center, a representative cultural space of Seoul National University, into a new complex cultural space. Chairman Bang donated 5 billion won to this fund in January 2023.
At the time of the donation, Chairman Bang said, "Having experienced that the support and help received from society serves as a significant nourishment for one's growth, I thought about giving back to my alma mater even a little. I hope that a virtuous cycle of donation will continue, where juniors grow and contribute back to society, nurturing dreams based on common sense rather than goals and dreams set by others, and contributing to society as they pursue these dreams."
In addition to the Cultural Center Construction Fund, Chairman Bang has engaged in various donation activities over the years. Since 2020, the total amount donated by Chairman Bang has exceeded 10 billion won. In June 2022, he donated 5 billion won to the Community Chest of Korea to support female youth in continuing their studies and achieving independence. The donated funds were used to support over 800 female youth through organizations such as the Jump organization, Korea Youth Counseling & Wealth Institute, BtoB Association, and the Geumsun Single Parent Counseling Center, and will be extended to support an additional 600 young women, totaling over 1,400. In July 2022, he donated 200 million won to the 'SNU BIZ Startup Fund' at the Seoul National University Business School to support the entrepreneurship of juniors at Seoul National University. This fund was created from the prize money of the 'Pony Chung Innovation Award,' which was awarded to Chairman Bang in 2020 for his contributions to the innovation of the global music industry.
In addition to donating 5 billion won to the Cultural Center Construction Fund at Seoul National University in January 2023, he also provided emergency relief funds of 200 million won in February to Save the Children, an international non-governmental organization (NGO), for earthquake relief in Turkey and Syria, and donated 50 million won in November to the Yoonjaeha Music Scholarship Foundation to support the discovery and growth of emerging musicians.
HYBE stated, "Chairman Bang Si-hyuk has been pondering and practicing ways to contribute to the development of the community as a businessman and a member of society, and we hope that the new cultural center will become a cradle for nurturing talent that will lead to Korea's leap as a cultural powerhouse."
Completed in 1984, the Seoul National University Cultural Center serves as a venue for art, discussions, and commemorative events for members of Seoul National University, hosting various performances, exhibitions, and lectures. The new cultural center will feature a vineyard-style concert hall with approximately 1,000 seats encircling the stage, a black box theater with approximately 300 seats, and gallery and community spaces, and is planned to serve as a focal point for the 'SNU COMMONS' strategy currently being pursued by Seoul National University. Completion is targeted for the second half of 2028.
[Photo provided by HYBE.]
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