Low Public Awareness of Arts Education... Yoon In-chon Calls for "Qualitative Growth"

Last Year, Only 11.3% Public Participation
"Educators Must Engage in People's Daily Lives"

"The current cultural arts education needs qualitative growth." This was emphasized by Yoon In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, when he met with cultural arts educators on the 15th. He stressed solving social problems through the healing and recovery properties of cultural arts.

Yoon In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is delivering opening remarks at the Regulatory Innovation Promotion Meeting for the Promotion of Free and Creative Culture, Sports, and Tourism Industries held on the 4th at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The cultural arts policy, which began in earnest in 2005, will mark its 20th anniversary next year. It has achieved remarkable quantitative growth. Last year alone, more than 3 million people received education at over 10,000 facilities including elementary, middle, and high schools, welfare facilities, and military units. The number of certified cultural arts educators, a professional workforce, has also increased by about 3,000 annually. As of the end of last year, there were approximately 32,000 certified educators.

However, public awareness remains relatively low. According to last year's National Cultural Arts Education Survey, the participation rate was only 11.3%. Among children and adolescents, it was 39.7%, while adults accounted for just 7.0%. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official explained, "This is because school education is operated only as part of the regular curriculum, and social education beneficiaries are limited to some culturally vulnerable groups."

To spread the value of cultural arts education and increase public awareness, the Ministry announced the "2nd Comprehensive Plan for Cultural Arts Education (2023?2027)" in February last year. The goal is "K-Cultural Arts Education that anyone can enjoy more closely and deeply." Detailed project plans and tasks are being explored together with experts.

Minister Yoon discussed strengthening the professional workforce, which is the foundation, and establishing demand-tailored measures. They also addressed ways to activate art healing in response to social issues such as the spread of loneliness and isolation. He said, "Competent cultural arts educators must be active in the daily lives of the people," and added, "We will further expand the role of cultural arts in helping healing and recovery."

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will hold an international forum on cultural arts education during the World Cultural Arts Education Week next month to specify the topics discussed on this day.

Meanwhile, attendees at the meeting included Kwon Hyun-jung, Chairperson of the Youth Architecture Education Committee; Kim Isaak, Director of Hello Museum; Noh Ju-hee, CEO of the Korea Audition Education Research Institute; Park Mi-ri, Professor at the Graduate School of Culture and Arts, Yongin University; Park Eun-hee, Director of the Seoul Education Theater Company; Shim Sook-young, Professor at the Graduate School of Sookmyung Women’s University; Ahn Ae-sun, Professor at Seoul Institute of the Arts; and Choi Hee-ah, Director of the Mind Empathy Psychological Treatment Center.

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