South Korea seeks to turn Cheong Wa Dae into cultural complex

Seoul, July 21 (BNA) The South Korean Ministry of Culture said Thursday that it will push for the conversion of the former presidential residence in Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul into a multi-purpose cultural complex.

Park Bo Geun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, reported the project to President Yoon Seok Yeol in his office as part of the ministry’s major work plans.

It is the first time a government office has released a detailed plan for the use of the historic facility since it opened to the public in May.

Yonhap reports that there have been calls from some cultural heritage experts that the site should be preserved as a cultural heritage site rather than a tourist destination.

Cheong Wa Dae was the presidential office and residence for the past 74 years before Yoon moved the top office to the former Ministry of Defense building in Yongsan, central Seoul. During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), it was used as a back garden for Gyeongbok Palace, a major royal palace.

Under the plan, the Ministry of Culture plans to use the facility for multiple purposes as an art museum, presidential memorial hall, and arboretum, taking full advantage of more than 600 artworks, relics of former presidents who lived there, and some 50,000 trees and some more. Cultural assets in the complex.

“The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will take the lead in the second phase, after the opening of Cheong Wa Dae in the first phase,” Park said of the plan during a press conference held at the government building in central Seoul on Wednesday. .

He stressed that the government would make it “cheong wa dae alive” where many cultural events could be held instead of maintaining them in their “fixed form”.

The minister said the government will also work with experts to devise ways to use it as an exhibition space without compromising its value as a cultural heritage site so that this project becomes a role model for civic and governmental cooperation.

Yoon asked the minister to transform the Cheong Wa Dae complex into a cultural and art space that not only showcases her current collections, but also other local works so that people can easily enjoy them, Vice Presidential Spokesperson Lee Jae-myung said after the meeting.

“The most important role of the Ministry of Culture is to ensure equitable access to culture,” Yoon was quoted as saying. “When implementing the artwork purchase budget for the Ministry of Culture and its affiliated organizations, actively search for disabled and up-and-coming artists, and ensure their works are purchased first.”

Yoon also instructed the minister to secure more space for disabled, emerging and young artists to present their work and performances on stage, and to increase the size of the film promotion fund that has been depleted during the pandemic.

Also included in the policy report was a plan to massively support Korean films, streaming services, and pop music to help them fuel the growth of the country’s entire content industry, an umbrella term that includes publishers, broadcasters, advertisers, companies producing music, computer games, animation, films, musicals, and other creative media experiences. .

The industry has already become a major sector of the country’s exports, with exports totaling $11.9 billion in 2020, more than $7.3 billion for home appliances and $4.1 billion for displays, according to the ministry.

For the film industry, the government will push for tax credits for movie tickets and to expand tax credits for film production. The Ministry of Culture is also closely consulting with the Ministry of Finance to increase the amount of public funding created for the development and promotion of the Korean film industry by 300 billion won ($228.3 million) from 2023 to 2025, according to Park.

In order to grow globally competitive domestic broadcasting services, the ministry will set up what it called a “drama fund” worth 40 billion won this year to help them create more original Korean dramas, as well as build new movie studios by 2023 and 2026, respectively.

The government will also support the development of virtual pop music shows and local shows by emerging K-pop singers while seeking to spread the global flourishing of Korean culture known as “halyu” to metaverse, a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social communication using new technologies. For this purpose, the government will sponsor 10,000 talents in the content industry in the next three years, according to the ministry.

FKN