Kaohsiung Music Center launches on Oct. 13 in opening ceremony

According to the Ministry of Culture, after years of construction and planning, the Kaohsiung Music Center (KMC) was finally launched on Oct. 31 in an opening ceremony attended by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te, and the mayor of Kaohsiung Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), among others.

Revolving around the theme of "Sea the Future," the event symbolizes Kaohsiung's role in leading South Taiwan’s music industry towards a more diverse and inclusive future through technology which combines the physical and the virtual. The performance combines music and 5G AIoT technology to reflect Kaohsiung's status as a global city, and the addition of the new Kaohsiung Music Center opens up greater potential for Taiwanese pop music.

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President Tsai Ing-wen praised Taiwanese music creators for presenting new imaginations of popular music. (Photo / Provided by the Ministry of Culture)

Tsai Ing-wen pointed out that the Taipei Music Center opened last year along with the KMC launched this year have helped Taiwan's music performance scene reach an important milestone.

According to MOC, the KMC is the first state-funded venue in southern Taiwan dedicated exclusively to pop music. It is not only a large-scale public infrastructure that MOC vigorously promotes, but also a major venue in the Asia New Bay Area (亞洲新灣區)'s "5G AIoT Innovation Hub."

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Kaohsiung Music Center launches on Oct. 13. (Photo / Provided by the Ministry of Culture)

KMC was planned, designed and built by the Kaohsiung City Government as part of the "New Ten Major Construction Projects (新十大建設計畫)" plan approved by the Executive Yuan in 2009. Composed of a special multi-dimensional hexagonal structure and a curtain wall, the huge venue has diverse and complete functions. It includes the performance space "Hai-Ing Hall (海音館)," which can accommodate 5,500 people; the outdoor "Hi-Breeze Square (海風廣場)," which can accommodate 8,000 people as well as a talent cultivation space, a pop music exhibition space, and Live house, among others.