SEOUL INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS (Republic of Korea)

Tay Yoo (Seoul Institute of the Arts Director), Cecile Guidote-Alvarez (UNESCO DREAM Center Director), and Javier Collado Ruano (Global Education Magazine Director)

After the World Education Forum 2015 (WEF 2015) celebrated in May 19-22, 2015, in Incheon (Republic of Korea), Ms. Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, UNESCO DREAM Center Director from the Philippines, invited Global Education Magazine Director, Javier Collado Ruano, to learn more about the Korea´s top art school that aims to be world-class academy in next half century. During the meeting, Seoul Institute of the Arts Director, Mr. Tay Yoo, explained us that “currently, SeoulArts is composed of the schools of Performance, Media, Design, Creative Writing, Music, Communications, and Humanities.” Mr. Tay Yoo also expressed his interest “to develop new partners with Brazilian and Spaniard institutions to promote Korean traditional art in the world.”

In 1962, the late playwright and director Chi Jin Yoo (also known by his pen-name Dongnang) founded the Drama Center and the Theatre Academy. The Drama Center was the first theatre built in Korea for the sole purpose of staging live theatre performances. Over a half century since its inception, the Theatre Academy evolved to become the Seoul Institute of the Arts of today.

The  Seoul Institute of the Arts offers both Associate Degree in Arts (AA) and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). The students who have entered the AA program receive training in the artistic field of their choice as well as a liberal arts education. The AA Programs (3 years) offer vocational education aiming for the fundamental knowledge and skills in arts, while BFA degree programs offer professional education to develop the fundamental knowledge and skills to the professional level through 1 year of intensive training and collaborative, circulatory, and integrated education.

In abstract, the development goals of Seoul Institute of the Arts (SeoulArts) to promote the Founding Statement are as follows:

1.  Global Creative Environment for Korean Arts to Meet the World

   With cutting edge technologies, the world continues to grow smaller. SeoulArts is dedicated to pursue the universal truth and environmentally friendly creative endeavors while building a global learning environment to share our art with the world.

2.  Collaboration, Circulation, and Integration

   In the 21st Century, the arts are evolving with various fields coming together. We are living in the era where all arts infinitely expand their territory beyond boundaries. To stay ahead, we will expand the major studies and offer intensive programs through collaboration, circulation, and integration.

3.  Strengthening Industry-Academy Cooperation for the Integration of Schools, Industries, and Society

   SeoulArts produces artistic projects not only within the school but also with the related industries outside of the school. We will continue to establish ties to support our incubating system that brings the faculty together with industrial experts to support our students’ research and business activities in various fields of art.

4.  Integrating Art with Science

   In today’s digital age, cutting edge technologies are being applied to all the arts. Our educational system is designed to recognize the latest developments in arts production and implement them for the students.

Professors and students from the Seoul Institute of the Arts along Cecile Guidote-Alvarez

During the meeting, Mrs. Cecile Guidote-Alvarez accepted to become honorary membership at Global Education Magazine and she also made a speech about her experience as Director of the Philippine Center of International Theater Institute/Earthsavers UNESCO DREAM Center and Interdisciplinary Creative Arts Therapeutic Emergency Response for the area affected by earthquake and super Typhoon Haiyan in Bohol, as she had made in a previous interview with Global Education Magazine. 

 Javier Collado Ruano