UOS has opened its new Department of Music building. Located alongside Haneul Pond, the building first opened its doors at the beginning of the 2016 fall semester.

Occupying 4,815m2 of total ground area, the new building has four stories above ground and one below. It has 28 rooms for individual lessons and four classrooms, as well as a concert hall that has high-quality acoustics and can accommodate an audience of 300 people. The university is also considering enabling outsiders to rent out the hall in order to provide local citizens with a better venue for cultural activities. The new building blends in well with its surroundings, with Mount Baebong standing as a backdrop. It was built in an environmentally sensitive way not only in terms of its appearance, but also its overall construction plan. The building is made of ecofriendly materials and is designed to facilitate natural ventilation, in addition to its approach roads covered with high-permeability materials.

Construction began in October 2014 and took 19 months to complete. It had been one of the university’s high-priority tasks because the old Department of Music building had received poor scores on its safety check, which meant that the university had to close down the building as soon as possible. Besides, the Department of Music had long been demanding a new building, since the old one lacked adequate space for either education or performances.

The Department of Music held a completion ceremony for the new building on the 6th of September, inviting various faculty members which included University President Yun-hi Won. Sam-hwa Kim, current member of the National Assembly and UOS alumnus, also paid a visit to make some remarks. After congratulatory addresses, several ensembles consisting of Department of Music students and alumni gave celebratory performances, which included instrumental playing as well as singing.

By Shin-ho Ahn
 

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