German carmaker BMW said Thursday that it had opened a large-scale cultural complex on a 13,200-square-meter site in Songdo International City in Incheon, South Korea.
The cultural complex was built through a joint investment by BMW and Bavarian Motors, Bavarian Motors, a Korean dealer of BMW and its Mini Brand. The construction project took 1 1/2 years. It is the largest integrated facility opened by a BMW dealer worldwide.
From left: Lee In-seok, chief executive officer of Bavarian Motors , Hildegard Wortmann, senior vice president of Brand BMW for the Asia-Pacific region excluding China, Kim Hyo-joon, senior vice president of BMW Korea, and Sebastian Mackensen, senior vice president of Mini Brand, attended an opening ceremony for BMW’s new cultural complex in Songdo International City in the port city of Incheon. (Yonhap)
Located in a city some 35 kilometers southwest of Seoul, the complex features a 600-square-meter multipurpose hall for exhibitions, lectures and concerts, as well as a BMW customer service center and cars on show for permanent exhibition.
This marks the second cultural facility by BMW in the port city of Korea, following the BMW Driving Center on Yeongjongdo -- a some 20-minute car ride away from the newly built facility. Over 500,000 visitors have come to the driving center during its three years of operation.
The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, a government agency in charge of Songdo International City, expects the complex to draw some 30,000 visitors each year.
By Son Ji-hyoung
(
consnow@heraldcorp.com)