Countless lines exist in a city. Like roads and river courses, some are visible, and others are not: ecological cycles, human relationships, heritage connecting the past and the present, and cultural exchanges connecting the world. Cities develop through these invisible lines. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic forced cities to go through a period of disconnection and isolation. Learning from that experience, restoring “connectivity” has now become the top priority for healing a divided city. This applies to the cultural and artistic ecosystem as well.

In 2025, the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture (SFAC) focused on reorganizing its programs and strengthening its internal stability, with “connection” as its core value. It refined its art creation support system to be more effective by connecting it to the art scene, reopened the floodgates for international exchanges that had been halted, and expanded artistic touchpoints in citizens’ daily lives. Here are ten stories showcasing the results of SFAC’s efforts through the values of connection over the past year.

Last year, SFAC opened two new genre-specific hubs and established genre-specific clusters that connect regional creative infrastructure. Together with the existing SFAC Daehakro Center, Daehakro Theater QUAD, and Seoul Theater Center, the addition of the Seoul Theater Creation Center in Daehak-ro—the heart of performing arts—finally completed the performing arts cluster in the area, encompassing support and creation, as well as presentation and viewing. Based on this, the regular rental system for three Daehak-ro theaters (Daehakro Theater QUAD, Seoul Theater 101, and Seoul Theater 202) will be reorganized into an integrated open call system this year.

In addition, the Seoul Culture & Arts Education Center Eunpyeong opened its doors in northwestern Seoul, featuring the nation’s only public venue dedicated to dance. The opening festival, going on until the end of the year, featured over 600 artists and a total of 32 nonstop programs, attracting a total of over 6,000 citizens. This center plans to collaborate with the Seoul Dance Center and Eunpyeong Foundation for Arts & Culture to establish northwestern Seoul as a new hub for dance art.

In 2023, SFAC established artistic support programs for young artists and veteran artists, completing an entire support system for every stage of an artist’s career. Moreover, last year, it focused on building a “growth-oriented support system” that provides support tailored to the artist’s developmental path. Recognizing the fact that only 18% of art college graduates actually enter the art world, SFAC established “Seoul Connect Stage” to support aspiring artists’ first performances. It provides selected aspiring artists with performance fees and rehearsal spaces, as well as support in the form of promotion, networking, and reviews from citizens and experts, to help them navigate the overall process of entering the art scene with stability. Their first performances are scheduled to take place starting January 26 at various spaces operated by SFAC.

On the other hand, the “Masterpiece Talk” program, designed for veteran artists who have dedicated their entire lives to the arts, was introduced for the first time. It is a program in which veteran artists share all about their artistic worlds and careers with citizens and junior artists. It was well-received in the art scene as a meaningful attempt to highlight these masters’ artistic contributions and life trajectories, while conveying public records that everyone should remember.

The “Seoul Portal of Approved & Curated (SPAC)” was officially established last July, serving as a portal to view information on over 500 artworks supported by SFAC, worth 17 billion KRW per year. SPAC’s defining feature as a portal is that artists can directly register information on their works, including descriptions and keywords. This website, filled with artists’ own words, is swiftly fulfilling its purpose, with approximately 350 works and over 50 reviews registered so far. It is highly anticipated to become a trusted digital promotion channel for artists, as well as a new public art information platform for citizens to discover works that suit their tastes.

The “Seoul Arts Awards,” an award system operated by SFAC, has gone beyond its initial discovery and certification functions in its first and second years. Last year, it further broadened its potential, now including distribution and proliferation. With SFAC’s support, linked to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KOFICE’s “Touring K-Arts,” two award-winning works from the first and second Seoul Arts Awards toured eight European cities from October 2025 for two months, introducing Seoul’s arts to European stages. This holds special significance, as it realized a virtuous cycle structure that progresses from creative support to distribution, through certification via awards.

Also, “Seoul Playwriting Award”—which is involved in the discovery of outstanding plays, and all the way to the performance announcement—has set a record-high competition rate of 265 to 1 in its recent call for submissions, proving the art scene’s fervent interest. Meanwhile, SFAC’s literary webzine “View” has firmly established itself as a new creative platform for emerging writers, focusing on discovering fresh faces in the literary world, such as Misang Lee and Yuni Haam.

Thanks to the success of K-content, Seoul is now being reborn as a global city that captures the world’s attention. In 2025, SFAC held the very first “Seoul, Arts, Future, Talks (SAFT),” creating a global public forum to discuss challenges and the future facing the art world, centered on Seoul. Going beyond a mere academic conference, this served as a platform to share Seoul’s experiences with the world, while exchanging insights with leading countries in the arts. Last year, SFAC continued active exchanges with over 100 overseas arts organizations from 22 countries through creative support programs and festivals. With this as a starting point, SFAC plans to establish partnerships with cultural institutions in major cities worldwide—such as Paris, New York, and Tokyo—laying important groundwork for Seoul to leap forward as a global cultural hub.

Last year, SFAC resumed its international exchange programs, connecting the world through art by engaging directly with Asian countries. The performance “Train No. 37,” jointly produced by South Korea and Kazakhstan to commemorate the 80th National Liberation Day, premiered at the Daehakro Theater QUAD and toured three Central Asian countries, with the Korean Theatre of Kazakhstan as one of its venues. Resulting in success, it was an attempt to lay new railroads for international exchange in Central Asia, a region where exchanges have been rare. At the 4th Seoul Arts & Tech Festival “Unfold X,” which concluded last December, SFAC collaborated with KOFICE, China’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Japan’s Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture to create a platform for exchanges among young artists from South Korea, China, and Japan.

Last year, attempts were made to transform everyday spaces throughout Seoul into stages. The focus was placed on creating an environment for “living area-based cultural enjoyment,” allowing people to naturally experience art in familiar spaces, such as outdoor attractions, parks, plazas, and main streets. The annual “Seoul Street Arts Festival (SSAF),” which is held at Seoul Plaza, expanded its stage along the Cheonggyecheon Stream for the first time last year, reaching more citizens. Similarly, “Artrekking,” a new participatory program in which participants walk along paths while enjoying various performances, was very well-received as a way to appreciate art and maintain health at the same time. During the three days of the festival, over 160,000 citizens visited to enjoy the pleasure of art in the city center, experiencing 41 different programs such as street theater, circus, dance, traditional performances, and exhibitions.

Autumn in Seoul is literally a season drenched in art, with countless performances and festivals unfolding one after another. Held for the first time last year, “Seoul Autumn Festa” is a seasonal brand that interweaves and introduces performing arts shows and festivals held during the autumn season. For over 40 days, 116 performances and festivals featuring around 10,000 artists brought art to over 560,000 citizens throughout Seoul. Now entering its second year, it will extend its duration to 70 days and add a new function as an international exchange platform, facilitating the expansion of domestic arts organizations and inviting outstanding international works. This is a brand strategy to transform the city’s identity through the charm of fine art, which is the backbone of K-culture, and is expected to serve as a bridgehead for international exchange, connecting the world through art.

Following its counterparts in Yangcheon, Yongsan, Gangbuk, and Seocho, the opening of Seoul Culture & Arts Education Center Eunpyeong last September finally completed Seoul’s arts education system, connecting five regions and living areas. Now, Seoul citizens can access high-quality, genre-specific arts education programs near their homes for a life of vitality and inner cultivation. The “Seoul Community Arts Festival,” where Seoul district art clubs and citizen artists gather, was reorganized into an outdoor festival held during the spring and autumn seasons—the best times of the year to go on outings—which attracted many citizens. In addition, SFAC’s flagship cultural performance program, “Seoul STAGE,” expanded its venues to outdoor attractions such as Boramae Park and Cheonggyecheon Stream. Moreover, SFAC’s many programs unfolded one after another, taking one step closer to citizens’ everyday lives. Such programs included “PIANO SEOUL,” which provides street pianos accessible to anyone; “Seoul Circus Festival,” which is enjoyed by the entire family during May, the Month of Family; and “Nodeul Island Sunset Stage,” which features various performances on Nodeul Island.

2025 marked the 80th anniversary of South Korea’s liberation. SFAC transformed Liberation Day from a mere commemoration of a historical moment into a special occasion to convey the memories of that very day through art. For this, SFAC declared a Liberation Week, presenting a space for artistic remembrance where citizens could directly participate and empathize. Nodeul Island was transformed into a “Liberation Island” adorned with 2,000 Taegeukgi, attracting over 60,000 citizens during the week. The event received an enthusiastic response, creating a shared understanding of the meaning of liberation in art.

Despite spending 2025 running breathlessly to connect citizens and the city, and even the world through art, SFAC did not neglect internal cohesion. The employee participation platform “Junior Board,” which was introduced for the first time last year, is anticipated to become a starting point for organizational culture change. In addition, SFAC met with several external experts to strengthen its internal stability, while broadening its vision for the future. The Policy Advisory Committee, which was inaugurated last November, plans to establish a focal point for designing the next decade of Seoul’s arts, with the participation of 25 experts from various fields including culture and arts, urban planning, technology, policy, and media.

The various changes and achievements made by SFAC last year were ultimately a process of connecting scattered lines to create a single flow. We hope that such changes connecting artists and citizens, as well as Seoul and the world, will form a tight knot that sustains the future cultural and artistic ecosystem. On this basis, SFAC has also completed preparations to leap forward as a global cultural foundation, running alongside the world. In 2026, Seoul is welcoming a new year of change alongside the arts.