Gyeonggi-do Invests 10.3 Billion KRW in Cultural and Arts Sector Affected by COVID-19

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will provide a total of 10.3 billion KRW in three areas?emergency activity support, protection of vulnerable workers, and rent and usage fee reductions for public facility tenant organizations?to help workers in the cultural, arts, and tourism sectors within the province overcome the crisis caused by COVID-19.

On the 14th, Jang Young-geun, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, held a video briefing at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office and explained, "The cultural, arts, and tourism sectors in the province have been in a long-term slump for more than six months due to disaster situations ranging from last year's African swine fever to COVID-19," adding, "We have prepared a Gyeonggi Province-style Cultural New Deal project to support the cultural, arts, and tourism sectors in collaboration with five public institutions: Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Gyeonggi Art Center, Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, Korea Ceramic Foundation, and Gyeonggi Content Agency."

The province decided to promote the Cultural New Deal project as 92% of cultural facilities such as museums, art galleries, and performance halls in the province were closed, and the number of moviegoers in March decreased by nearly 90% compared to the same month last year, resulting in declines in performances, exhibitions, movies, and major tourist site visitors.

The 10.3 billion KRW prepared this time by the province was secured through the five public institutions’ use of basic assets and other funding sources (3.5 billion KRW) and business restructuring (6.3 billion KRW). This includes 500 million KRW in rent and usage fee reductions.

By institution, the amounts are: Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation 5.2 billion KRW, Gyeonggi Art Center 800 million KRW, Gyeonggi Tourism Organization 2.2 billion KRW, Korea Ceramic Foundation 1.3 billion KRW, and Gyeonggi Content Agency 800 million KRW.

The Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation decided to utilize 2 billion KRW of its basic assets, which correspond to capital, for emergency support of the cultural and arts sectors. The province explained that this is the first time since the foundation’s establishment that such a measure has been taken, reflecting the urgency of support for the cultural and arts fields.

Based on these funds, the province will support 2,413 individuals including full-time artists, ceramic artists, film workers, indie musicians, and freelance instructors, as well as 1,732 organizations such as arts groups, tourism businesses, pension operators, tourist restaurants, local bookstores, content companies, and tenant companies in public facilities.

Director Jang stated, "This measure focuses on securing competitiveness and maintaining the ecosystem of the cultural, arts, and tourism sectors rather than a simple distribution approach," and added, "We will also provide various content such as online performances so that residents can enjoy culture and arts while maintaining physical distancing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.