The National Gugak Center announced its performance business plan for the year 2026 on the 28th, presenting the direction for realizing the vision of "National Gugak Center enjoyed by the people and the world together." The plan is to strengthen its role as a "public traditional arts platform" that expands its connection with the public based on traditional Korean music, leading the modernization, popularization, and globalization of Korean music.

Firstly, in line with the schedule for improving the audience environment at the Yeakdang Hall, they will ensure the continuity of performances and enhance the operational system to organically link production, planning, and dissemination. They plan to gradually improve the viewing environment through design (March-May) and construction (August-December) to create a safer and more pleasant viewing condition. In the first half of the year, they will focus on production and planning centered around Yeakdang, and in the second half, they will strengthen the expansion focusing on local venues and external stages to increase the efficiency of operations and audience interaction.

They will also enhance the capacity for producing representative contents. They will newly produce the representative changgeuk "Chunhyang" and present it three times at Yeakdang from April 24th to 26th. Based on the core scenes of the pansori "Chunhyangga," they will enhance the completeness of the narrative and music to expand the empathy with contemporary audiences and further strengthen the competitiveness of the center as a representative repertoire of changgeuk.

They will also expand the operation of regular and planned performances. They will operate events such as the "Gwanghanruwon Concert" (16 times), "K-Gugak Stage" (17 times), "Dadam" (5 times a year), and "Sori Pan" (6 times), and will conduct performances related to Lunar New Year, New Year, regional festivals, and external cooperation performances throughout the year to expand the role of public performances and audience interaction.

The expansion of regional performances will be further promoted with a focus on "Korean music into the people." They will operate with three works and 14 performances, presenting "The Moon Fallen in the River," "The Drum Sound in the Forest," and "The Star and the Rainbow Bridge" in seven regions nationwide, including Yongin and Gwangmyeong in Gyeonggi, Yecheon in Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gimhae in Gyeongsangnam-do, Jincheon in Chungcheongbuk-do, and Yeonggwang and Wando in Jeollanam-do. Additionally, last year's representative changgeuk "Dokgap's Carriage Song" will be expanded through exchanges with the National Theater to meet with more audiences.

In the field of education, experience, and research, they will deepen their efforts in a direction that enhances the public's perception. They will operate customized programs for youth, the general public, and marginalized groups throughout the year, strengthen archiving based on performance outcomes, and expand the accumulation of folk music research materials in collaboration with local institutions and universities. They also plan to enhance the quality of exhibition and experience contents to increase the accessibility and satisfaction of public cultural services.

International exchanges will also be carried out gradually. In July, they will hold one performance each in Osaka and Okinawa, Japan to expand connections with local audiences. In line with the trend of expanding cultural exchanges between the two countries' leaders, they will continue discussions with the Chinese central government and cultural and arts cooperation agencies to solidify the direction of exchange tasks in the field of traditional arts performances and forums.

Director Kim Jung-hyun stated, "In 2026, the National Gugak Center will preserve the essence of tradition while expanding in a way that resonates with the audience and the times, elevating the value of Korean music enjoyed by the people and the world together." He also expressed, "We will advance without interruption in producing representative changgeuk, expanding regular and planned performances, regional dissemination, audience environment improvement, and international cultural exchanges to enhance the cultural service quality that the people can feel and introduce K-Gugak to the world."