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[Anchor Lead]

Public bathhouses and Korean style inns were a common fixture in the old days but not so much anymore. Most are outdated facilities and some of them have been torn down. But these venues of the past are being transformed into cultural spaces these days, attracting more and more visitors. Take a look.

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At the top of an old wooden staircase, visitors find wooden pillar frames and earthen walls. Paintings and installation artworks are displayed under rafters which are steep in the history of 8 decades.

[Soundbite] Kim Han-wul • Lee Yu-jun(Visitors) : "It's so special that a former inn is now used as a gallery. (It's fun. I feel as if I entered into a storybook. It's something new.)"

Numerous poets and artists stayed at this inn built in the 1930s. Artworks are displayed in 13 rooms of the inn, now transformed into a cultural space. A tall chimney and a faded sign are the only traces of a public bath house. But inside, there is a spacious performance hall.

[Soundbite] Seo Sang-hyeok(Performance Organizer) : "Where we're standing now was the women's bath. In the middle was the hot bath."

The once beloved public bathhouse had shut down after 50 years, but since last year, it has turned into a small theater once every month. On this day, visitors watch a show together, share food and "bathe" in the art.

[Soundbite] Seo Sang-hyeok(Performance Organizer) : "We pursue ideas on communicating with local residents through art and discovering links that can make life more interesting."

While redevelopment and demolition of old structures are the norm in the modern era, projects continue to breathe new life into old spaces where history and memories live on.