[Reader Contribution] Mokpo's New Challenge: 'Cultural City'

Seung-hyun Jeong, Member of Mokpo Cultural City Promotion Task Force Team

◆Cultural City, The Second Challenge!

Mokpo City challenged to become a cultural city selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism last year but had to face bitter defeat, and now it has embarked on its second challenge.

In fact, it is by no means easy to condense the intangible life values of Mokpo, which citizens have created over several years or even decades, into tangible cultural data.

Since it requires reflecting the opinions of a majority of Mokpo citizens rather than just one or two individuals, active participation of citizens in this cultural city initiative is also an essential aspect.

Therefore, Mokpo has formed a citizen promotion group and is currently working on developing concepts to establish the cultural values of its citizens based on this group.

In Mokpo’s case, under the broad framework called ‘Munhwa Dabang [文化茶房]’ (Cultural Tea Room), it is maximizing the artistic creation spirit and cultural nostalgia based on the old downtown five-way intersection tea room culture.

The Mokpo area has a higher population density than other cities, making it easier to create a space for cultural sharing, and if spatial utilization linked to ongoing urban regeneration is achieved, establishing citizen culture will not be a difficult task.

To find ways to encourage citizen participation, the Mokpo Cultural City Promotion Group has organized subcommittees for urban regeneration, tourism, culture and arts, youth, and local communities, creating communication spaces where citizens can directly participate.

In particular, by involving citizen committee members of various ages and from different areas within the city in each subcommittee, opinions that could be concentrated in one field or specific region were dispersed as much as possible, respecting the diversity of culture while doing their best to preserve Mokpo’s regional identity.

◆Why Should We Attract a Cultural City to Mokpo?

The development of a cultural city can be a great opportunity to redefine Mokpo’s cultural value, but on the other hand, it can be considered a core project that can lead regional change by linking with the recently designated tourism hub city.

A cultural city is a legally designated city based on the Regional Culture Promotion Act. Local governments submit a cultural city creation plan for the next five years based on their regional cultural values to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. After evaluation, consulting, and review, they are designated as a preliminary city. Following one year of preliminary projects and passing the final review, they receive 20 billion KRW in project funding over five years to fully develop the cultural city.

In particular, cultural changes based on the budget become a driving force that can transform the region into a more condensed meaning, and if combined with tourism, it can more easily lead Mokpo’s future growth.

Recently, Mokpo was also selected as one of South Korea’s four major tourist cities, and linked tourism development is underway, aiming to attract 16 million tourists by 2025.

This is interpreted as bringing long-term significant changes to local commercial demand, laying the foundation for regional development.

Meanwhile, if Mokpo integrates culture city status following tourism, the synergy effect is expected to multiply, addressing the question of ‘Why should we attract a cultural city to Mokpo?’

◆What Is a Cultural City?

Culture is not limited exclusively to the arts. It can be broadly defined as everything belonging to our living areas, including tourism, youth, education, and the elderly. Perhaps a cultural city is more a tool that makes individual lives happier than just a legally designated result.

Considering that culture encompasses the totality of human life, there is nothing that does not relate to contemplating a cultural city.

Especially if the cultural framework of citizens is created and shared by the majority, the value of the region can change in ways incomparable to the present.

The largest portion of cultural life in Mokpo is undoubtedly movie watching. Compared to other cultural activities, the proportion of movies is overwhelming.

In Mokpo, where it is difficult to operate performing arts such as plays or musicals regularly, leading cultural trends is certainly not an easy task.

As a result, citizen satisfaction with cultural enjoyment is not as high as in large cities. Therefore, establishing the value of a cultural city is a necessary project for Mokpo’s future, beyond just the need for budget acquisition.

◆We Must Create a Cultural City.

For Mokpo to stand tall as a cultural city, citizen participation is absolutely necessary. Searching ‘Mokpo Cultural City’ on Facebook will lead to the current page, where various opinions from citizens are being heard.

Additionally, regular busking performances and diverse cultural events are planned, so citizen participation is requested.

Based on recent research on cultural cities, the author has learned regional values and realized that Mokpo’s cultural capacity and development are quite advanced compared to other cities.

Simply put, everything we considered ordinary in daily life can become culture.

Now, to accelerate the development of the cultural city, voluntary participation of citizens is important, but citizens must be at the center of leading change.

Finally, the future of Mokpo, which lacks a proper industrial structure, is not about attracting companies with smokestacks but transforming into a tourism city based on culture.

We must no longer repeat the tragedy of local talents leaving for big cities to grow; it is necessary to create a foundation where they can settle in their hometown and play a central role in development.

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