S. Korea eyes major facelift in culture-support policy

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, June 17 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government announced a set of reform
plans in its support for the cultural sector Wednesday, which will include more
effective and balanced financial incentives for the country's artists and
performers, and better management of the national culture fund.
The government mapped out so-called "indirect funding plans," which will go into
effect beginning next year, under which some 30 billion won (US$23 million) will
be spent mostly on providing artists with rental costs for theaters, galleries
and practice rooms. The current financial aid is focused on directly handing out
cash to artists, a policy often criticized for aggravating the art sector's
dependency on the government.
"Aware of several problems in the current culture-support plans, we have been
discussing reforms with the culture ministry since late last year," said Oh
Kwang-soo, chief of the state-run Art Council Korea (ARKO). "Our reforms are
mostly focused on increasing the independence of the art sector with balanced and
effective plans."
To avoid disputes over the impartiality of the art council's selection of artists
to receive financial support, the government will establish an independent team
of jurors, who have no direct stake in art businesses.
These jurors will select 28 art and culture related institutions, and 80 artists,
performers and authors to financially support depending on their economic and
artistic potential, as measured through reviews and market reaction.
The government also plans to impose stricter management plans on the national
culture fund, which experts say may run out in five years time due to excessive
and disorganized spending. Detailed measures will be announced after further
discussions, officials said.
The reform plans also include building a massive art support center in Daehangro,
a venue of more than 120 mid- and small-tier performance halls in Seoul. The
center will house a performance studio, a media lab, and conference and seminar
rooms freely accessible for any artists and performers, officials said.
Wednesday's press conference, the first to be held on the issue of cultural
policy reform since the inauguration of the Lee Myung-bak government last year,
was attended by several top culture officials including Culture Minister Yu
In-chon.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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