Five Minutes with Yoo In-Taek
Click here to read more about Mr Yoo’s recent appointment at SAC.
Photo credit: Seoul Arts Center
As the newly appointed president, do you have any new vision and goals for Seoul Arts Center?
I believe SAC should be a cultural platform where all forms of arts are initiated and marketed in a creative way. In order to do so, SAC needs to be prepared and ready to develop new productions with diverse perspectives and accept them as SAC signature repertoires. And I would like to expand the boundaries and territories of SAC through the continuous discussion and exchange of cultural activities with foreign arts organisations.
What is the biggest challenge facing SAC today?
SAC needs to secure a stable level of financial resources from the public sector. We only receive 30% of the budget from the government and have to make up the rest of it through profitable business including ticket sales, venue rental and parking fee. This means that SAC is forced to pursue profits and give up on the development of new ideas, productions and audience services in some ways. After taking the office, I launched a couple of projects to focus on collecting grant and support from both the public and civil sector to enable well-made arts services to the people in Korea. I do believe there is a way we can get over the financial difficulties and cure the “cost disease” of this industry.
Your background consists a wide spectrum of experiences ranging from production of films, involvement in a Chinese movie theatre…. You have received multiple awards in the Korean Arts Scene, successfully leading arts venues and even a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences! How have these experiences helped you with your current role?
I have worked as a producer and investor in the movie industry and as the managing director of performing arts theatre. Thanks to the challenges and successes I faced and made so far, I have a broad range of knowledge and know-how about pioneering the market and financing projects. With these experiences, I could bring $10,000 donation from a donor right after my inauguration. And I launched a new membership targeted at gaining financial support. Recently, I signed a contract to fund a play performance with an investment fund company for the first time in the history of SAC.
Photo credit: Seoul Arts Center
What are you most looking forward to in SAC’s year ahead?
I am planning to present SAC’s new opera, Chunhyangjeon, as a new production. Chunhyangjeon is a very well-known traditional love story in Korea. We are working on developing adaptation and music. This will be the very chance to show SAC’s capability to create an opera production to the opera-goers in Korea. And SAC will host more classical concerts with prominent artists than before and keep increasing the level of involvement in co-working with private companies and agencies. I expect that we will have more audiences respond to our efforts to provide more high quality arts events than ever.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I can say that my life’s work has been to attract capital for artistic creation. That capital is used to produce many plays, musicals and films. And I am very good at making friendships and sharing ideas. I would like to sophisticate my talents for more to be connected to the arts.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I once won the Daejong Film Award, which is the most respected movie award, as a producer in 1996. This film was about a labour worker who burnt himself to death protesting the poor working conditions in 1970. The movie resonated with the public and achieved commercial success. When preparing the movie, I tried a crowd-funding campaign to make the movie for the first time in Korea. After its success, I learnt to think in a different way and make things happen. I believe every single moment of my life is the achievements I make and feel grateful for that.
Photo credit: Seoul Arts Center
What is your most marked characteristic?
I am a very good listener. After taking the office, I started meeting with all the staff and artists who most often go on the stage of SAC and listened to their voices. I tried to have more understanding of them and be a welcomed leader and colleague. I hosted several meetings with relevant staff and artists of each different genre and could use my insight to position SAC as a deeply trusted organisation.
Who is your favourite hero of fiction?
I read lots of books. I believe the characters in a book depict all the possibilities in real life through their challenges and sufferings. I would like to call them my heroes who give me meaningful inspiration on how to live with my own values.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
I tell my staff of SAC to do their job with joy. I don’t want them to suffer and feel pressure from the workload and numbers they have to make. It is their satisfaction and resolution to improve themselves that matter to me. Perfect happiness, to me, must mean to be prepared to enjoy and dive into anything with one’s own will and be ready to leave without any regret.
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