Gimhae City Fully Prepares for UNESCO Creative Cities Designation

Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province, held a workshop for joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. [Image source=Gimhae City]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 13th that it recently submitted an application for membership in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network to the UNESCO headquarters located in Paris, France.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project aimed at fostering cultural industries based on a city's cultural assets and creativity, promoting economic, social, and cultural development through cooperation between cities, thereby enhancing cultural diversity and promoting sustainable development.

It consists of seven fields: crafts and folk art, literature, music, design, media arts, gastronomy, and film. Currently, there are 246 member cities from 85 countries, with 10 cities in South Korea being members.

Based on the excellence of Gimhae Buncheong ceramics and its rich infrastructure in the ceramics field, the city joined as a preliminary member of the UCCN under the Korean National Commission for UNESCO in February 2018, participating in domestic UCCN events, hosting international academic forums, and promoting UCCN activities.

In October last year, a promotion committee composed of 22 experts, institution representatives, workers, and citizen activists from various fields such as crafts, folk art, culture, education, and urban regeneration was launched to prepare the application for UCCN membership.

Finally, as a finishing task in preparation for the UNESCO headquarters evaluation, a Creative City website was established and has been operating since early July.

The website is expected to serve as a reference during the evaluation by providing information on the fields of crafts and folk art and increasing citizens' interest in the Creative City.

UNESCO plans to announce the results at the end of October after evaluations by the Creative Cities and expert assessments.

Kim Seong-ho, Director of the Cultural Tourism Business Office, said, "Designation as a Creative City can provide an opportunity for cultural assets to develop dramatically, and the benefits can extend throughout the entire city," adding, "We will devote all our capabilities to prepare so that we can be designated as a Creative City."

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