The national performing arts center under construction in the southwestern city of Gwangju will hold a children's play festival timed for the facility's opening early next month, organizers said Friday.

The Children's Festival set to run on Sept. 4-12 will feature 41 acclaimed children's plays from 11 countries around the world, including the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Spain, Australia, Italy, Malaysia and Japan, the center said in a release.

The plays, whose target ages range from infants to teens, will take place at the Children's Culture Center that is part of the Asia Culture Center (ACC), and several other venues in Gwangju, 329 kilometers south of Seoul. Some of the shows are free of charge.

For more information, visit the festival's website at www.childrensfestival.kr or call 1899-8781.

"Just like the ACC, the Children's Culture Center aims to study and develop Asia's cultural resources, turn them into contents for children such as shows and firsthand experience programs and share the results with the rest of Asia and the world," the release quoted the ACC's acting chief, Bang Sun-gyu, as saying.

"This festival will serve as a chance to show the future path of the ACC Children's Culture Center through various forms of performances."

The construction of the ACC, a multipurpose cultural facility, began in 2008 as part of then President Roh Moo-hyun's plan to foster Gwangju as a mecca of culture and arts in Asia. The four-story building will be home to various facilities for introducing the history and culture of Asian countries and supporting Asian creators and promoting exchanges among them.