Signs attached on the door of the National Museum of Korea in central Seoul show the museum will be temporarily closed due to the new coronavirus pandemic on Dec. 8, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — A group of major state-run cultural facilities in Seoul will reopen later this week, the culture ministry said Monday, amid signs of the third wave of the coronavirus slowing down.
The ministry said 17 national cultural facilities in Seoul, including museums, art museums and theaters, will accept visitors starting Tuesday, ending closure orders adopted in early December to contain the spike in COVID-19 cases in the capital area.
The reopening facilities include the National Museum of Korea, the National Folk Museum of Korea, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, the Seoul Arts Center and the National Gugak Center for Korean traditional music.
The Deoksu Palace branch of the National Museum of Contemporary Art in central Seoul, however, will remain closed until Feb. 3 due to exhibition preparations.
Seven national art organizations, including the National Theater Company of Korea, the Korean National Ballet and the Korea National Opera, will also be allowed to hold on-site performances for visitors.
According to the ministry, the facilities will be required to follow the Level 2.5 social distancing guidelines currently in effect in the capital area. The measures will remain in place until the end of this month in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
Under the guidelines, national and public facilities can only open at 30 percent capacity, and spectators at performance venues are required to sit one seat apart.
(Yonhap)
