'Busan as a city of cultural rights: citizens ask, Busan answers'

Busan Arts Council urges opera house to grow as city brand

Busan People's Arts Council calls for basic arts income, western arts zone

Mayor says both sides of debate are valued, procedural legitimacy key

A town hall meeting on cultural arts policy for the ninth elected-term Busan city administration is held Wednesday at the main conference room of Busan City Hall. [Busan city government]
A town hall meeting on cultural arts policy for the ninth elected-term Busan city administration is held Wednesday at the main conference room of Busan City Hall. [Busan city government]

Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo held a town hall meeting on cultural affairs Wednesday afternoon at the main conference room on the first floor of Busan City Hall, drawing more than 100 participants including cultural arts experts and residents. It was the second such forum, following the first town hall on "Busan as a maritime capital" held Sept. 14.

Held under the theme "Busan as a city of cultural rights: citizens ask, Busan answers," the first session saw Mayor Jeon declare "Busan as a city of cultural rights" — a vision placing culture as a fundamental right of citizens and a core operating principle of the city — as the central direction of his cultural policy for the ninth elected term.

Jeon also unveiled five cultural pledges he plans to fulfill during his term, centered on building a cultural ecosystem in which production, retail, enjoyment and reinvestment form a virtuous cycle. The pledges are: reaching 10 billion won ($7.36 million) in cultural arts support funding; developing a mixed-use cultural exhibition space at Bukhang port; launching "Munhwa Masil," a project to turn private venues such as cafes into cultural facilities; establishing a 100 billion won cultural arts fund; and creating "Platform 051," a new channel connecting cultural stakeholders.

The second session opened the floor to citizens' views — both for and against — on two projects pursued by former Mayor Park Heong-joon: a Busan branch of the Centre Pompidou and an invitation performance by La Scala.

Oh Su-yeon, chairwoman of the Busan Arts Council, addressed the La Scala performance question by saying, "Not every performance or cultural event can satisfy all 3.2 million Busan citizens." She argued that the city should research the future investment value and economic ripple effects and grow the opera house into a brand asset for Busan.

Kim Hyang-ju, a resident of Nam-gu, said that while concerns about deficits had arisen from reports that the Pompidou branch would require annual operating costs of 12.5 billion won, with Busan bearing 7.5 billion won of that, the Gwangan Bridge had faced fierce opposition during its construction over its enormous cost of 789.9 billion won and fears it would damage the natural landscape — yet it had since become a tourism asset representing the city. "The value of major urban infrastructure should not be judged solely by construction costs or short-term returns," she said.

Hwang Jong-mo, secretary-general of the Busan People's Arts Council, took the opposite view, saying he "clearly opposes" both the Pompidou branch and the La Scala invitation performance to mark the opening of the Busan Opera House. He called instead for a guaranteed basic arts income for Busan's creators, the designation of western Busan as an international arts special zone, and the establishment of a Busan arts support center.

Seo Gang-hyeon, who introduced himself as a philosopher who teaches cultural arts and paints, said a "unilateral bid to bring in the Pompidou, funded by hundreds of billions of won in taxpayer money, cannot go forward." He urged the city to preserve Igidae Park in Nam-gu — where the Pompidou branch had been planned — as a marine ecological and cultural park unique to Busan, and to develop it as a space connecting nature, ecology, geology, history and the arts. He also proposed that Bukhang port be developed not as a tourism or development zone but as a world-class maritime cultural arts city where Busan's past, present and future in the era of Arctic shipping routes converge.

Mayor Jeon said that "opposing and supporting views are equally valuable without exception," adding that although he had pledged during the election campaign to scrap both the Pompidou branch and the La Scala performance entirely, he had organized Wednesday's town hall because "these are weighty matters, and I believe procedural legitimacy must be secured from the citizens themselves."

He also reflected on the recent viral sensation of "Buckangi," a wild animal that had captured public attention, saying it made him realize that "it is not grand architecture that captures people's attention — ultimately, it is stories." He added: "Our unconscious, bound by human relationships and social order, rebels against the freedom of the wild and finds release in stories. When our stories become culture, become art, and fill Busan to the brim, there will be a next chapter beyond K-culture."


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