| Ussuriysk Korean Cultural Center | |
| Address: | Ussuriysk, Russia |
| Completion Date: | 2009 |
| Floor Count: | 2 |
The Ussuriysk Korean Cultural Center (;) is a branch of the South Korean organization Korean Cultural Centers in Ussuriysk, Primorsky Krai, Russia.[1] It was built in 2009, and serves as an activity center for Koryo-saram: ethnic Koreans of the former Soviet Union. It also houses the Maritime Territory Koryo-saram Cultural Association (;).
The building is host to a Museum of the History of Russian Koreans, which covers the history of Koryo-saram.[2]
An Ussuriysk Koryo-saram cultural organization was first established in 1991. Planning for the construction of a building for their activities began in 2004, and was completed by 2009. It has two floors above ground, and a floor area of around 4000m2. The history museum was first opened on October 31, 2009. The organization also manages a separate history exhibit at the former house of the Korean independence activist .[3] [4] A monument to another independence activist An Jung-geun also stands outside the building.
The building is now host to a number of cultural activities, including free Korean language classes, a Korean traditional dance group Arirang (named for Arirang, the Korean folk song), and a Korean drum group. A Korean restaurant and library are present on the first floor. A monthly Russian-language newspaper is also published from the building.
The building and organization have become notable for their celebrations of the holiday Chuseok.[5] Their events become so popular with non-Korean residents of the city, that the mayor of Ussuriysk observed in October 2014 that the holiday had become a holiday for the entire city. For their 2023 celebration, on the 160th anniversary of the first arrival of Koreans emigrants to Russia, over a thousand Koryo-saram participated.
On September 6, 2017, the First Lady of South Korea Kim Jung-sook visited the building and participated in several cultural activities.[6]