The South Korean government announced today that it plans to build a

The South Korean government announced today that it plans to build a new eco-friendly culture center in New York by 2012.

The New York Korea Center, slated to be located in Manhattan, will play a major role in promoting Korean culture and arts abroad and providing expertise for Korean artists aspiring to work in the United States.

The fifth culture center to be built abroad, following Los Angeles, Beijing, Shanghai, and Tokyo, the New York complex will have unique designs reminiscent of traditional Korean art and eco-friendly facilities such as solar walls to supply some partial energy and a rain harvesting system, according to the ministry.

For the construction of the 8-story building, set to begin in September, the ministry selected Samoo Architects & Engineers to carry out the project, which will cost approximately 45.8 billion won (40 million U.S. dollars) to complete, it said in a press release.

Source news.xinhuanet.com