Next year's culture budget to focus more on going global

The government will pull the plug on regional art projects next year to instead put more money toward overseas culture promotions and funding for young artists and audiences with disabilities, due to the tight budget set by the administration.

Visitors take part in a VIP opening of Frieze Seoul 2023 on Sept. 6 at COEX convention hall in southern Seoul. Frieze Seoul ran until Sept. 9 in tandem with Kiaf, or the Korea International Art Fair, also in COEX. [YONHAP]

The government will pull the plug on regional art projects next year to instead put more money toward overseas culture promotions and funding for young artists and audiences with disabilities, due to the tight budget set by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

The budget for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for 2024 was set at 6.98 trillion won ($5.26 billion), up 3.5 percent compared to this year.

This increase is higher than the 2.8 percent rise of the total government expenditure for next year, set at 656.9 trillion won, the slimmest growth rate yet that came as a result of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration trying to tighten its belt amid growing concerns of the economic soundness of the country.

Of the Culture Ministry’s budget, the arts sector has been allocated 32.5 percent, or 2.27 trillion won, to be spent toward the betterment of the Korean arts scene of 2024. It takes up the largest piece of the pie compared to other sectors of the ministry — content, tourism, sports and more — but is still 1.9 percent lower than the previous year and also smaller than the 34.3 percent portion that went into the arts sector this year.

The content sector will receive 1.30 trillion won, up 10.7 percent from 2023. Tourism will 1.37 trillion won, also 10.7 percent more than this year, while sports is set to receive 1.67 trillion won, or 1.8 percent more than this year.

Visitors take part in a VIP opening of Frieze Seoul 2023 on Sept. 6 at COEX convention hall in southern Seoul. Frieze Seoul ran until Sept. 9 in tandem with Kiaf, or the Korea International Art Fair, also in COEX. [YONHAP]

The decrease in the arts sector came as a result of the government’s overall goal to cut down on “unreasonable” spending and focus on spreading Korean culture to the world and to people marginalized by society, according to the ministry.

“We scrutinized all our projects and planned our budget based on how much the projects achieved, whether they delivered on their initial goals and how satisfied people were,” said Yu Byung-chae, deputy minister for culture and arts policy of the Culture Ministry.

“The budget for culture and arts policies has actually gone up. Regional arts policies have been cut, mostly because we had split the amount to send art tutors with each regional education office, but they will now be wholly paid for by the offices. Other projects have also been merged with others or reorganized.”

The ministry will spend 49 billion won to help artists create and exhibit their work across the country, up 11.6 billion won from this year. Nine billion won will go to helping young artists, and 8 billion won will be spent by state-run arts groups to hold large-scale performances in rural areas. Instead of tutors, regional facilities will be given 6.2 billion won to apply for cultural programs to be held in their respective regions.

A total of 239.7 billion won, up 29.5 billion won from this year, will be put toward the pre-paid Munhwa Nuri Card, which can be used by families of lower income brackets to buy tickets to entertainment and leisure activities in Korea. The annual cap of 110,000 won per person will be increased to 130,000 won next year.

Visitors take part in a VIP opening of Frieze Seoul 2023 on Sept. 6 at COEX convention hall in southern Seoul. Frieze Seoul ran until Sept. 9 in tandem with Kiaf, or the Korea International Art Fair, also in COEX. [YONHAP]

An arts hall tailored to artists and visitors with disabilities will be built next year with a budget of 3 billion won. A performing arts hall for people with disabilities will open next month in central Seoul.

The ministry will spend 33 billion won, up 9.5 billion won from this year, to renovate the Blue House premises and turn it into a cultural space for people to enjoy. The money will be spent on making resting areas for visitors and reorganizing buildings that were previously closed off to the public.

The ministry will also use the upcoming Paris Olympics to promote Korean culture globally. A total of 19.8 billion won will be used to hold performances and exhibits before, during and after the Olympic games in France, to introduce the essence of Korean culture to international tourists.

The King Sejong Institute, aimed at spreading Korean culture and language to different countries, will receive 61 billion won to be used toward increasing the number of its schools from 248 as of 2023 to 290 by next year. Thirty more tutors will be dispatched to the schools, for a grand total of 300.

“The budget for the culture and actors sector in 2024 will lay out the foundations of K-culture and will allow everyone to fairly enjoy the fruits of culture,” Park Bo-gyoon, minister of culture, sports and tourism, said in a statement.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]