Arts Community Opposes Ministry of Culture's Plan to Integrate National Arts Organizations' Boards

Voices of artists opposing the integration of the boards of directors of five national art organizations under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the establishment of an integrated secretariat are growing louder.

Among the organizations targeted for integration, the National Ballet Company rejected the amendment to its articles of association necessary for board integration, and choreographer and dancer Oh Hyun-taek, who has worked with the National Contemporary Dance Company, launched a petition against the integration of the National Contemporary Dance Company on his social media (SNS) on the 24th.

Seoul Arts Center [Photo by Seoul Arts Center]

The MCST is promoting a plan to integrate the boards of directors of five organizations based at the Seoul Arts Center?the National Ballet Company, National Opera Company, National Symphony Orchestra, National Chorus, and National Contemporary Dance Company?and to establish an integrated secretariat. The purpose is to create an organization dedicated to managing the administrative tasks of the five national art organizations, allowing each to focus solely on their core artistic activities.

The MCST emphasized that the five art organizations will receive support from a management organization with expertise and efficiency in administrative tasks such as budgeting, accounting, contracts, and publicity, enabling each organization to pursue the highest level of artistry. Furthermore, the national art organizations will maintain their individual names and identities, and the heads and artistic directors of each organization will continue in their current roles, focusing more on their core artistic activities based on autonomy, including mid- to long-term season program selection and decisions on individual performance programs such as conducting, directing, and choreography.

Within the performing arts community, while the MCST’s intention to promote integration is understood, concerns have been raised that integrating five art organizations with different characteristics is a challenging task. Moreover, criticism has emerged that the process of gathering opinions from the five organizations was insufficient, leading to a more concrete movement of opposition.

The MCST attempted to amend the articles of association necessary for board integration at the settlement board meetings of the five art organizations, but it is reported that the National Ballet Company’s board rejected the amendment, differing in opinion from the MCST.

On his SNS, Oh Hyun-taek argued, “The National Contemporary Dance Company currently has the smallest budget among the art organizations, and under the integration plan, it faces a high risk of being effectively abolished.” He emphasized, “The diverse artistic fields of the National Opera Company, National Chorus, National Symphony Orchestra, National Ballet Company, and National Contemporary Dance Company each have their own unique artistic language and creative methods. Integration will bring about not just administrative procedures but also a reduction in artistic autonomy and restrictions on creative freedom.”

The National Contemporary Dance Company does not have regular members; dancers are selected through auditions for each performance to stage works. Oh Hyun-taek was also selected through auditions and appeared in works by the National Contemporary Dance Company.

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