MMCA event to feature futsal classes, art tours with ex-footballer Park Ji-sung

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in collaboration with Nike, will host a multicultural event featuring football legend Park Ji-sung. The program includes futsal activities, a lecture by Park, and a special exhibition tour.

Poster for ″MMCA Play″ [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART]

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) will offer an opportunity for multicultural families to experience futsal and contemporary art with football legend Park Ji-sung.

Participants in the cultural event “MMCA Play,” jointly organized by the MMCA and sports brand Nike, will tour the museum with former football player Park and play futsal on the MMCA's grounds in Jongno District, central Seoul on July 12. Around 60 children and guardians from multicultural families affiliated with international aid agency World Vision will be invited.

Park will give a lecture, titled the “Future Generation Talk,” wherein he will discuss his multicultural experiences and the efforts he made to achieve his dreams as an athlete. Choi Jun-woo, CEO of the football YouTube channel “Shoot for Love,” will host the event.

After the talk, Park and coaching staff will demonstrate futsal movements at a “Junior Futsal” session open to 18 children from grades one to four, who must be accompanied by one or two guardians.

Children and guardians will also learn to play futsal together at a “Family Futsal” event. Coaches from “We Meet Up Sports,” a social enterprise made up of retired female athletes, will join “Family Futsal.” The session is open to 18 teams, each of which will include one child from grades one to four and one guardian.

Following the futsal programs, participants will tour the ongoing special exhibition “Collection Variable” with Park as a one-day docent. This program will include 15 teams including one child from grades 4 to 6 and one guardian. Each person can apply for up to two tickets.

Preregistration is first-come, first-served, and start at 2 p.m. on Friday via the museum’s website. The participation fee for the futsal program is 20,000 won ($14.5) per person while the special exhibition tour is free. Participants who are registered for at least one futsal program can join the “Future Generation Talk.”

All proceeds will be donated to World Vision in the participants' names and will support art therapy for children.

“We hope this event contributes to empathy and solidarity in a multicultural society and expands cultural accessibility,” said Kim Sung-hee, director of the MMCA.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]