Lowering barriers to live performances and nurturing young people’s dreams... INSPIRE brings warmth to the community through culture and giving

INSPIRE Entertainment Resort, located on Yeongjong Island in Incheon, is expanding its social contribution activities by making use of its performance venue, cultural content and resort facilities. Its initiatives range from projects to improve access to performances for people with hearing loss to career experiences for young people aspiring to work in the music industry, cultural events for children in care and support for vulnerable groups in island communities. Rather than limiting its efforts to donations, the company puts its cultural and entertainment infrastructure to work for social good and builds lasting partnerships with the local community.
■ Improving hearing access so people with hearing loss can enjoy performances
INSPIRE is working actively with JYP Entertainment and the incorporated association Hearcycle to improve the concert experience for people with hearing loss. The program is part of Sound Beyond Hearing, INSPIRE’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) project.
At large venues, people with hearing loss who wear hearing aids or cochlear implants may find it difficult to distinguish singers’ voices and lyrics clearly as speaker sound, audience cheers and the venue’s reverberation blend together. The aim is to improve listening conditions so they can hear the music and lyrics more clearly, rather than experiencing a performance only visually.
INSPIRE supports the operation of an assistive listening system in connection with performances by JYP artists at its venue, Inspire Arena. The key technology is Auracast. It helps people listen by wirelessly transmitting the concert audio to hearing aids or cochlear implants.
To ensure the system operates reliably, INSPIRE provides a skybox as a listening space and offers technical assistance with installing transmitters and running the system on site. It also plans to help produce content featuring participants’ concert experiences and feedback.
The project was first used at Inspire Arena performances last August by JYP artists including 2PM and DAY6. INSPIRE plans to build on its experience operating the system and create an environment where more concertgoers can enjoy performances together. The project has also drawn attention as the first hearing-accessibility initiative of its kind attempted at a private concert venue, ahead of the scheduled requirement to install assistive listening equipment in public facilities and other venues starting this November.

■ Opening the stage to aspiring musicians...supporting career exploration
INSPIRE also gives young people who aspire to work in music and the live entertainment industry opportunities to experience the field firsthand. In March, it invited young participants in SM Entertainment’s social contribution program, SMile Music Festival, for a backstage tour of Inspire Arena. The tour included past graduates from the program’s vocal, dance and band teams, as well as university student video supporters. Guided by professional concert staff, participants explored backstage areas that are not normally open to the public.
They looked around the dressing rooms and locker rooms where global artists prepare for performances, as well as the stage equipment and sound systems, and learned how major concerts are planned, produced and run. They also viewed the stage from the audience seats and learned about the venue’s operating systems.
The program’s main focus was to introduce participants to a range of careers in the music industry, including concert planning, stage production and venue operations. By taking them beyond watching performances to experience firsthand how a stage is created, it aimed to broaden their career horizons.
INSPIRE has also partnered with Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation to expand educational opportunities for local young people. After signing an agreement last March, it selected around 20 scholarship recipients from the area and has run the scholarship program for more than a year.
In addition to scholarships, the program offers cultural experiences and career mentoring using the resort’s facilities and content. It also creates opportunities to expand participants’ cultural and artistic experiences, including through INSPIRE Experience Day, with a focus on narrowing educational gaps that financial support alone may not be enough to address.
■ Creating special memories for local children...expanding cultural experiences
INSPIRE also provides local children with opportunities for cultural experiences that can be hard to come by in their daily lives. Last December, it held a Christmas event for children from Incheon Boramae Children’s Center, a temporary care facility with which it has maintained a relationship since the center opened in 2023.
The children ate at Chef’s Kitchen, the resort’s buffet restaurant, and received Christmas gifts prepared by INSPIRE. They also took commemorative photos in spaces decorated for the year-end season and enjoyed a range of cultural experiences, including viewing media art on Aurora, the resort’s digital entertainment street.
The event also featured Color Hunting, in which participants searched for and recorded colors hidden throughout the resort. Using color kits, the children explored the colors of the spaces and completed their own color storybooks. The program combines play with cultural experiences to engage the children’s emotions and encourage creative expression.
INSPIRE also carries out donations to support children. Last December, it donated a total of 4 million won to Incheon Comprehensive Social Welfare Center: 1.8 million won raised through its donation-based yoga program, Together to INSPIRE, plus a 2.2 million won matching contribution from the company. The money was used to support children at risk of going without meals during winter vacation.
That same month, it also provided 10 million won in transit card top-ups through the Incheon Jung-gu Community Social Security Council to help local young people take part in educational and career activities. The support was intended to offer practical help to those who may find it difficult to participate in a range of activities because of financial circumstances or limited transportation options.
■ Volunteering and donations on the islands...stepping up support for vulnerable groups
INSPIRE’s social contribution activities extend beyond Yeongjong Island to Incheon’s island communities. Last November, in partnership with the Island Development Support Center of the Incheon Tourism Organization, its employees volunteered at Jangbong Hyerimwon, a social welfare facility in Bukdo-myeon, Ongjin County.
The volunteers brightened the facility by painting a mural on its exterior walls and tidied the grounds inside and out. They also spent time with people with developmental disabilities and joined them for meals. They helped improve the living environment as well, clearing slippery fallen leaves to prevent falls.
Separately from the volunteer work, INSPIRE donated 15 million won to the Ongjin County Community Social Security Council to support single-person households and vulnerable groups in island and mountainous areas. The money was used for programs to fill gaps in the welfare safety net, including emergency assistance related to housing and daily safety during winter.
The previous summer, INSPIRE volunteers collected marine litter on Shindo, near Yeongjong Island, and helped grape farmers with their work. It also donated 20 million won to the Bukdo-myeon Community Social Security Council to help install air conditioners in vulnerable households and facilities in preparation for heat waves.
INSPIRE has also provided cultural support for people working in local social welfare. Last November, it invited residents and employees of Jangbong Hyerimwon, along with representatives of the Incheon branch of the Community Chest of Korea and the Incheon regional office of Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation, to a music festival at Inspire Arena to enjoy the performances together. The program was especially meaningful because it gave people working to support local welfare a chance to recharge by enjoying a performance together.
An INSPIRE representative said, “We carry out activities that provide practical help to the local community, using cultural and entertainment infrastructure such as our concert venue to improve access to culture and offering young people and children a range of experiences and opportunities to explore career paths.” The representative added, “We will continue working with the local community and pursuing social contribution activities that create social value, rather than letting them remain one-off events.”
[email protected] Jeong Sun-min Reporter