A discussion forum for a cultural powerhouse, South Korea, will be held.
On the 7th at 10 AM, the '2nd Cultural Powerhouse National Assembly Forum' will take place in the second seminar room of the National Assembly Hall, focusing on the philosophy and sustainability of South Korea's cultural policy. This forum is co-hosted by members of the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Culture and Arts and the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, including Kang Yu-jeong, Kim Yoon-deok, Min Hyung-bae, Park Soo-hyun, Yang Moon-seok, Lee Gi-heon, Lim Oh-kyung, Jeon Jae-soo, and Jo Gye-won, and is organized by the Cultural Powerhouse Network (Chairman Lee Woo-jong).
The forum, titled 'Dialogue for a Cultural Powerhouse – The Direction and Sustainability of South Korea's Cultural Policy', aims to explore a philosophical and practical direction for cultural and arts policy that goes beyond mere administration or industrial development, fostering coexistence among creators, citizens, and local and central governments.
The chair of the forum will be Professor Choi Jun-ho, an honorary professor at the Korea National University of Arts. Professor Choi, who has linked theory and policy in the field of culture and arts, will lead the presentations and discussions at the forum. The keynote speech will be delivered by Kang Yu-jeong, a member of the National Assembly and chair of the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Culture and Arts. She will emphasize that cultural policy should be approached not as a political tool but as a matter of citizens' lives and rights, and that policies should be reconstructed not around results but through relationships, senses, and the language of art and life.
Presentations will be made by Professor Kim Hyun-hwan from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Lee Won-jae, an adjunct professor at Kyung Hee Cyber University (Executive Director of the Cultural Solidarity). Professor Kim will address the 'Principles of Cultural Policy', outlining the philosophical foundations of cultural policy design and presenting the basic structure and direction of the policy.
Professor Lee will discuss 'Sustainability of Cultural Policy', arguing that cultural policy should shift from a focus on short-term results to a 'way of life', and will propose practical tasks accordingly.
The following discussion will feature three experts who will engage in in-depth discussions reflecting the realities of policy. The first discussant, Park Sung-il, a music director known for his work on dramas such as 'My Mister' and 'The Great Show', will convey the need to protect creators' rights and improve unfair contract structures from the perspective of the field.
The second discussant, Ko Dong-hyun, a researcher at the Yonsei University Institute for Social Development, is a cultural sociologist with extensive experience in cultural policy research and implementation. He will diagnose the structural problems of centralized cultural policy and propose data-driven, region-specific policy designs and ways to achieve cultural decentralization. The final discussant, So Hong-sam, former head of the Uijeongbu Cultural Foundation, is a practical expert well-versed in regional cultural planning and the operation of public cultural institutions. He will emphasize the need for cultural institutions to become autonomous cultural entities capable of independent planning and operation, as well as the necessity for institutional improvements and budget restructuring.
Lee Woo-jong, chairman of the Cultural Powerhouse Network, which organized this forum, stated, "As cultural policy is at a turning point, whether South Korea remains a cultural laggard or advances as a cultural powerhouse depends on how well we are prepared." He expressed hope that this forum would serve as an opportunity to concretize the philosophy and execution strategies of cultural policy. He also added, "We all have a responsibility to respond to the 'light support sticks' created by citizens with culture and arts."
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
