Q) I’ve heard that you have a unique career as ‘an animation PD’. What made you have that job?

A) I’ve been always very interested in children’s stories. My first project at the animation company was an education program for animators. I remember that I had a lot of stress when I was in the ordinary producing works. On the other hand, I only have pleasant memories that I worked with delight and confidence while working on the educational program. I have invited as diverse lecturers as possible from different fields such as pantomimist, choreographer, actor, and anatomist in order to provide animators with special lectures. It was worthwhile for me to make programs which they request. And the process of recharging was also valuable to me. I was very touched to see the enthusiastic participants. I think I was lucky to be given the responsibility for the arts educational programs since I began my career at HanPAC.

Q) The work-study program ‘Motion Playground for Children’ won the first prize in <2011 Cultural School Project for Arts & Culture Organizations>. What was the purpose of your program and what do you think was the reason it won the prize?

A) If I have to tell the reason we won the prize, I guess it was because we had tried to make the program optimized to the situation and the demands of the participating school. And also, it was because we had tried to look at small things that could have been overlooked as we had talked with the teachers. I don’t think there was anything special in the program itself, but I guess the panel of judges put a high valuation on our effort to walk on the right path as well as to adapt ourselves to the environment.

Q) The program was impressive because it dealt with fusion of the fine arts and the dancing, which could expand one’s sensibility and expressiveness. Do you have something to say to the students and teachers who have participated in the program?

A) We worked with the teachers from ‘Arts Communication 21’ for this project. We have divided the class into 3~4 groups and assigned each teacher to each group so that they could get as close to the students as possible. I think that was why all of them have got closer one another during the short period of time. I felt reassured because each of the teachers poured their full energy into the class. And also, I learned that it was more important to upgrade the quality of the program through a cool-headed assessment than to build a good relationship between the director and the teachers. It was a great help to us that all twelve teachers had participated in the appraisals for each class, had reviewed the class, and had shared ideas. I would like to express my gratitude for the president Seo Hee-young and the teachers again.

Q) A lot of organizations have been running different projects related to arts and culture. Did you find anything that needs improvement in the future while you participated in the projects and ran the program?

A) I think that the order must be reversed if someone plans a program and then searches for related schools after reading the announcement of a project. The most important thing, I guess, is not to prepare a creative curriculum, but is to take a preliminary research and to have understanding on the target participants. I realized keenly that it requires corresponding legwork to figure out what programs the local community and schools want. It was regretful that I was not able to fully concentrate on the preliminary research this time. That is why I still have something uncomfortable in my heart though I received the first prize. It was a great opportunity for me to learn that I should not make the plan first and try to find the participants, but have an insight and affection in order to find out what they really need while always paying my attention to the characteristics of the local area, the people’s tendency, and their lifestyle.

The exterior walls of Hanguk Performing Arts Center (HanPAC) in Daehangno were under construction. Different from its cold appearance from outside, unique spaces prepared inside the building were greeting its visitors. A charming lady, Chung So-eun at the Strategy & Business Division of HanPAC was in charge of ‘Motion Playground for Children’, the program which won the first prize in <2011 Cultural School Project for Arts & Culture Organizations>.

Written by Lee Ji-hyeon (Local Correspondent)