In the heart of Ulsan, a city long known as a pillar of South Korea’s industrial might, a new cultural landmark has emerged.
Lightroom Ulsan Baekyangsa, an immersive multimedia exhibition hall, opened in April 2025 to reshape how visitors experience art, sound, and space.
Driven by the vision of Baekyangsa Temple, an institution with more than a thousand years of history in the Jogye Order, Lightroom Ulsan was established to bridge heritage and innovation. The venue offers exhibitions where digital artistry comes alive across towering screens, amplified by multidimensional audio that draws guests into each scene.
To meet the venue’s ambitious demands for clarity, uniformity, and immersive audio coverage, Kinoton Korea, Inc. partnered with the integration team at Lightroom Ulsan to deploy a comprehensive Harman Professional audio system.
The goal for the Lightroom Ulsan integration team was never to create a traditional exhibition space as they needed an environment that immersed the audience both visually and acoustically. High-resolution projection alone wasn't enough and that they needed sound that was precise, powerful, and evenly distributed throughout a highly reflective space.
To overcome acoustic challenges caused by the venue’s high ceilings and open architectural layout, the team installed sound-absorbing panels across all four walls and finished them with fabric materials. This approach effectively minimised reverb and ensured acoustic consistency across the venue.
For the install, six JBL’s VTX A6 loudspeakers provided compact yet wide coverage, while twelve of the JBL VTX F15 loudspeakers delivered accurate point-source clarity. Six of the JBL VTX B15G subwoofers added immersive low-end presence, and six Crown’s I-Tech 4X3500HD amplifiers, complete with built-in DSP, offered intuitive control and system reliability that they stated was one of the biggest advantages to deploying a JBL Professional and Crown system.
The team also made use of JBL’s Venue Synthesis software at the early stage of the project. The Kinoton Korea team reported that using Venue Synthesis instead of CAD (Computer-Aided Design) during speaker placement significantly accelerated planning and improved collaboration with the architectural team, while also helping them prepare tuning data early, reducing overall setup time.
Jay Ko from Lightroom Ulsan Baekyangsa said: “The immersive visuals surrounding all four walls were stunning, and I was impressed by the high-quality sound that elevated the entire experience. It felt like I had truly stepped into Hockney’s world, filled with vibrant colors and light.
Amar Subash, VP & GM, Harman Professional Solutions, APAC, concluded: “The installation at Lightroom Ulsan showcases how Harman’s integrated technologies can power immersive art spaces that engage all the senses.”