What is More Than Pandas: Chengdu showing in Seoul?

The exhibition introduces Chengdu’s culture and arts, with a focus on the city’s identity as a cultural center in southwestern China. It includes references to landmarks such as Du Fu Thatched Cottage and Wuhou Shrine.

Why is the Chengdu exhibition in Seoul significant?

It is the first joint project under the partnership agreement the foundation signed with the Cultural Center of the Chinese Embassy on Aug. 26. It is also the first time cultural institutions representing Chengdu have held a standalone exhibition in Korea.

Gangbuk Culture Foundation brings Chengdu cultural exhibition to Seoul

Q: When and where is the Gangbuk Culture Foundation exhibition being held?

It runs from Wednesday through the end of the month at the Gangbuk Jindallae Hall gallery inside the Gangbuk Arts Center in Seoul. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday at Gangbuk Songnamu Hall.

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Summary

The Gangbuk Culture Foundation will host More Than Pandas: Chengdu in Seoul from Wednesday through the end of the month at the Gangbuk Jindallae Hall gallery inside the Gangbuk Arts Center. The collaborative exhibition with the Cultural Center of the Chinese Embassy in Korea and the Chengdu Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau introduces Chengdu’s culture and arts. It also marks the first joint project under a partnership signed on Aug. 26 and the first standalone exhibition in Korea by Chengdu cultural institutions.

Key Facts

The exhibition opens with a ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday at Gangbuk Songnamu Hall inside the arts center.
Actor and singer Oh Jung-hae will perform pansori, and dance troupe Cheonha Jeil Tal Gongjakso will perform Mundung Buk Chum.
The Chengdu Symphony Orchestra will feature a woodwind quartet for the opening.
The show highlights Du Fu Thatched Cottage and Wuhou Shrine as part of Chengdu’s cultural history.

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Published Sep 16, 2026 4:24 pm KST

The entrance of Wuhou Shrine, a temple honoring Zhuge Liang, who served as chancellor of the Shu Han kingdom during China's Three Kingdoms period / Korea Times file

The Gangbuk Culture Foundation will host "More Than Pandas: Chengdu," a collaborative exhibition with the Cultural Center of the Chinese Embassy in Korea and the Chengdu Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, running Wednesday through the end of the month at the Gangbuk Jindallae Hall gallery inside the Gangbuk Arts Center in Seoul.

The exhibition introduces the culture and arts of Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province, best known internationally as the home of giant pandas. The show highlights Chengdu's history as a cultural city, home to the Du Fu Thatched Cottage where the celebrated Tang dynasty poet Du Fu once lived, and the Wuhou Shrine, a temple honoring Zhuge Liang, who served as chancellor of the Shu Han kingdom during China's Three Kingdoms period.

The show is the first joint project under a partnership agreement the foundation signed with the Cultural Center of the Chinese Embassy on Aug. 26, and marks the first time cultural institutions representing Chengdu have held a standalone exhibition in Korea.

An opening ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the Gangbuk Songnamu Hall inside the arts center. Actor and singer Oh Jung-hae, known for her role in the 1993 film "Sopyonje," will perform pansori, a traditional form of Korean narrative singing, while dance troupe Cheonha Jeil Tal Gongjakso will perform the "Mundung Buk Chum," a drum dance from the Goseong Ogwangdae mask dance drama, a UNESCO-designated intangible cultural heritage tradition from Goseong County. The Chengdu Symphony Orchestra will feature a woodwind quartet to celebrate the exhibition's opening.

More information is available on the Gangbuk Culture Foundation's website.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

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