Moviegoers are seen at a theater in Seoul on Aug. 23.YONHAP
Starting next year, more young people in Korea will have access to cultural activities, and artists will gain greater livelihood stability, as the government seeks to strengthen both pillars in its push to make Korea a global cultural powerhouse.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has earmarked a record 9.6 trillion won ($6.9 billion) for its 2027 budget, marking a 22.6 percent jump from this year's 7.9 trillion won, it announced Friday.
The budget is divided into four key areas, with the culture and arts sector seeing the largest increase. Funding for the sector will rise 44.6 percent to 3.9 trillion won, up from 2.7 trillion won this year.
The content sector, which posted the largest budget growth this year at 27 percent, will receive a more modest 9.5 percent increase next year, bringing its total allocation to 1.6 trillion won.
The tourism sector has earmarked 1.5 trillion won, and the sports sector 1.7 trillion won.
"This budget is the first budget that has fully reflected this administration's initiative regarding culture and arts policy," said Kim Jung-hoon, deputy minister for planning and coordination at the Culture Ministry during a briefing Thursday.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young speaks to young artists during a conference held at Arts Korea Lab office in Jongno District in central Seoul on Aug. 12.YONHAP
"In that sense, [the biggest increase in the culture and arts sector] reflects the [Lee Jae Myung] administration's philosophy in cultural policies. The budget for K-culture is, of course, important, and it has also seen a significant increase. But we believe the basic culture and arts sector is fundamental to Korea becoming a cultural powerhouse, and we have consistently said that we would strengthen this area."
The Culture Ministry has significantly expanded the age range eligible for the Youth Culture Pass, an online voucher given to young people in Korea for cultural events. This year, people aged 19 and 20 were eligible. Next year, the range will expand to ages 19 to 34.
This year, 280,000 people were eligible for the voucher, with 36.1 billion won allocated. Next year, 9.2 million people will be eligible, with 792.5 billion won allocated — a 22-fold increase. The government fund supports 100,000 won per person annually in the capital region, and 150,000 won in noncapital regions.
The events supported by the voucher have also expanded from exhibitions, performances, movies and books to include sports activities.
"We believe helping young people enjoy cultural activities will eventually lead to a virtuous cycle by indirectly injecting funds into arts and culture sectors as well, especially in the regional areas," Kim said.
The social safety net for artists will be fortified to guarantee better artistic activities.
A total of 31.1 billion won has been earmarked to support the basic livelihoods of certified artists, up from 1.5 billion won this year.
In the content sector, the ministry doubled down on expanding policy financing. It expanded the content strategy fund, which invests in domestic Intellectual Property regardless of company size or genre, from 65 billion won to 130 billion won. Another fund aimed at attracting foreign investment also increased from 60 billion won to 200 billion won.
The ministry aims to strengthen Korea's production capacity by promoting collaboration with foreign production teams.
It has expanded the number of global projects it supports where overseas and domestic production teams coproduce, from six to 14. It said it will also resume supporting filming of foreign projects in Korea, starting with three next year.
Boosting regional tourism remains the Culture Ministry's core mission.
It said it will invest 93.5 billion won in fostering tourism zones around regional airports. It will focus on five areas: Busan, Daegu, Cheongju, Muan and Yangyang.
