Government Supports 2005-Born Youths in Attending Performances and Exhibitions

'Youth Culture and Arts Pass' to be Issued from the 28th
150,000 KRW Support for 160,000 19-Year-Olds Nationwide

The government will support performances and exhibition attendance for young people born in 2005. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service announced on the 20th that the ‘Youth Culture and Arts Pass’ will be issued on the 28th.

This project provides up to 150,000 KRW per person to approximately 160,000 19-year-old youths nationwide, regardless of income. It aims to lower the barriers to cultural and artistic experiences and innovate the public’s cultural enjoyment environment. According to last year’s National Cultural and Arts Activity Survey, 86.5% of teenagers (ages 15?19) expressed an intention to attend cultural and artistic events, but 31.3% hesitated due to high costs.

To facilitate convenient issuance and use, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is jointly conducting the project with Interpark, Yes24, and others. The ‘Youth Culture and Arts Pass’ will be issued in order of application according to the number of youths designated for each of the 17 cities and provinces nationwide. A ministry official explained, “After verifying the applicant’s age and residence, points used to book performance and exhibition tickets will be immediately provided.”

Of the 150,000 KRW support fund, 100,000 KRW is from the national budget and 50,000 KRW from local government funds. The latter will be additionally provided once supplementary budgets are secured by each local government in the first half of this year. Eligible performances and exhibitions include musicals, classical music, and plays. Points must be used by December 31 of this year.

Minister Yoo In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, “We hope that through the ‘Youth Culture and Arts Pass,’ young people will experience diverse cultural and artistic activities and become active participants in the cultural and arts market in the future.”

The ‘Culture Pass’ system is already implemented in several countries such as France, Germany, and Spain. France started issuing it to 18-year-olds in 2021 and expanded the target to 15?17-year-olds the following year. Fifteen-year-olds receive 20 euros, 16?17-year-olds receive 30 euros, and 18-year-olds receive 300 euros respectively. Spain (400 euros) and Germany (200 euros) have been providing performance and exhibition attendance costs to 18-year-olds since 2018 and this year, respectively.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Arts Council Korea will develop a brand image (BI) to ensure that youths do not miss applying for the ‘Youth Culture and Arts Pass.’ They will strategically promote marketing by producing promotional videos and distributing them to local governments and national and public cultural and arts institutions. A ministry official stated, “We plan to widely publicize that this is a benefit that connects youth with culture and broadens their cultural literacy.”

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