Discussions to cover policy foundations, creative support and regional ecosystem development

A poster for the policy forum on revising the Culture and Arts Promotion Act. [Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]
A poster for the policy forum on revising the Culture and Arts Promotion Act. [Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Tuesday that it will hold a policy forum on revising the Culture and Arts Promotion Act on Wednesday at Korea National Open University in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Enacted in 1972, the Culture and Arts Promotion Act has served in effect as the foundational law governing the country's arts and culture sector. Despite comprehensive revisions in 1995 and 2007, as well as several partial amendments, critics have long argued that the law has failed to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of the arts community and the evolving policy landscape.

The forum will present the key provisions of a comprehensive revision bill introduced in the National Assembly in July — sponsored by lawmaker Jo Gye-won — along with several partial amendment bills currently before the Assembly, and will gather input from practitioners in the field.

A ministry official will present an overview of the proposed revisions, followed by panel discussions moderated by Yang Hye-won, head of the culture research division at the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. Designated panelists include Kim Hong-pil, head of the arts policy division at the ministry; Park Young-jung, former head of the Korea Artists Welfare Foundation; playwright Guk Min-seong; Kim Hyun-ju, head of the culture and arts division at the North Chungcheong Province Cultural Foundation; Shin Da-hye, chief executive of Feelthefeel; and visual artist Min Se-hee. They will share views on the current state of each sector and discuss priorities for legal and institutional reform. An open discussion and question-and-answer session will follow.

The forum is open to all without prior registration and will also be livestreamed on the ministry's YouTube channel.


pink@heraldcorp.com