Kang Ki-jung "A City Where Everyday Culture Becomes Art"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Kang Ki-jung, the Democratic Party of Korea's preliminary candidate for mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, announced on the 21st, "I will create an Asian cultural hub city that raises the level and dignity of cultural citizens, and a city where everyday culture becomes art."

Candidate Kang pledged five major action tasks as campaign promises: ▲ expanding opportunities for citizens to enjoy culture and arts ▲ strengthening support systems for cultural artists ▲ investing in cultural industries and supporting corporate activities ▲ normalizing the creation of an Asian cultural hub city ▲ implementing fair and efficient cultural administration.

First, he plans to hold the citizen-participatory international music festival, 'Crossover Music Festival,' open public cultural facilities at night frequented by citizens, and establish the Gwangju Cinematheque and a dedicated film promotion organization to foster the film industry.

Through renovation of idle facilities and remodeling of multipurpose performance halls, he aims to expand medium-sized dedicated art theaters for classical music and plays with 300 to 500 seats, and also build a one-pass system for booking and reserving cultural and artistic facilities to expand everyday opportunities to enjoy culture and arts.

Next, utilizing city-owned land and abandoned industrial facilities, he will create cultural and artistic villages, designate small-scale art bunkers in each of Gwangju’s 95 neighborhoods, and support remodeling to provide stable spaces for cultural and artistic activities.

For young artists, he will operate a gap year project supporting overseas residency creative programs and visits to art institutions, and match artists with media companies in a lab (Lab) format to realize various projects.

The budget for purchasing artworks in Gwangju, which had been about 1 billion KRW annually over the past seven years, will be significantly expanded to provide artists with creative opportunities and allow citizens to experience art in daily life. Financial support such as low-interest hope loans, happiness welfare cards, and issuance of cultural bonds for artists will also be promoted.

Additionally, by linking with domestic and international game companies and e-sports teams, he will hold the 'International Game Showcase Festival,' form angel investment associations for content companies with follow-up support, and create a virtuous cycle structure that revitalizes the local economy by making culture an industry centered on the Songam Industrial Complex's advanced immersive content cube.

Along with this, through global cultural and artistic exchange projects including Asian countries and cooperative joint planning projects with the Asia Culture Center (ACC), he plans to nurture cultural and artistic experts to enhance the status of the Asian cultural hub city.

Candidate Kang said, "Gwangju set the vision of an Asian cultural hub city with the establishment of the National Asia Culture Center, but due to lack of investment in cultural and artistic infrastructure and administration, it could not fully meet the cultural and artistic demands of citizens. As a young mayor of Gwangju, I will roll up my sleeves and weave culture and art into the daily lives of citizens together with young artists."

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