The Korean Film Council is re-opening its media education institute, “Seoul Media Center,” in Chungmuro district in Pil-dong, Seoul, on Thursday, the organization said.

The institute was first established as “Mediact” in 2002 on the fifth floor of the Ilmin Museum of Art building near Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.

Until 2010, the institute had been run by the Association of Korean Independent Film and Video (KIFV) on commission. The Gwanghwamun office closed down in August of last year, as Ilmin Museum of Art, which is run by the Ilmin Cultural Foundation ― a non-profit organization founded in 1994 in memory of former president of Dong-A Ilbo Kim Sang-man ― decided to give the space to Dong-A Ilbo’s new cable TV station Channel A.

The newly opening institute, which will be solely run by KOFIC, will have lecture rooms, editing and recording suites, and meeting rooms for those who’d like to learn how to make films on their own.

Starting next month, the institute will offer filmmaking courses and workshops, as well as lend film equipment.

During the opening ceremony slated to take place on Thursday, KOFIC will also sign an MOU with Dongguk University. Under the agreement, the university will support KOFIC in generating educational programs for the new center, as well as research on Korean films and media studies.

Meanwhile, KIFV, who has been claiming that KOFIC “unfairly” took away their commission, opened a media education institute of their own in Sangam-dong in May of 2010, keeping its original name “Mediact.”

For more information about the center and its programs, visit www.media-center.or.kr.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)