"'100 Days in Office' Song Hyeongjong, CEO of Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, 'Increase Support for Pure Arts and Hold Autumn Festival'"

"We will increase the budget for supporting the field of pure arts from 50 billion won to 70 billion won, and this fall, we will hold the Seoul Autumn Festa to open the era of global pure performing arts."

Song Hyeongjong, CEO of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, promised active support for the pure arts sector at a press conference held on the 10th to mark his 100th day in office. Song, who took office as the 9th CEO of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture on January 1 this year, announced the management 9th term three-year (2025-2027) strategy at the press conference held at the Seoul Theater Center.

CEO Song set the goal of a city growing together with the arts and presented three strategies for this: Artist City, Global Cultural City, and Cultural Enjoyment City.

Song said, "We will create Seoul as a cultural city where uniqueness becomes everyday life," adding, "By facilitating smooth communication with the field and implementing more sophisticated policies, we will create an environment where artists can freely create, and arts will permeate citizens' daily lives so that they can enjoy a special everyday life." He also emphasized that pure performing arts are the foundation of the Korean Wave and pledged to make special efforts to establish a foundation for revitalizing the pure performing arts ecosystem."

Song Hyeongjong, the 9th CEO of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, is presenting the 9th management strategy of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture at a press conference held on the 10th at the Seoul Theater Center to mark his 100 days in office.
[Photo by Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture]

He stressed that securing the budget is the most important factor in establishing the foundation for the pure performing arts ecosystem. CEO Song said, "During my three-year term, I plan to persuade the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul City Council to increase the pure arts support budget by about 20 billion won," adding, "If that happens, the current public contest support selection rate of about 13% is expected to rise to as much as 20%."

The Seoul Autumn Festa is scheduled to open on October 2 and continue for about 40 days. CEO Song said the opening event will be held at Seoul Plaza on October 2, emphasizing that Seoul will take its first step as a city of performing arts festivals.

CEO Song emphasized that the Seoul Autumn Festa will be a festival centered on field artists, and that they will seek ways to jointly plan the festival by creating an environment where the private and public sectors can cooperate.

For the global cultural city, a 'Seoul International Arts Forum (tentative name)' led by Seoul will be newly established in November. This year’s forum will discuss the theme of "Seoul’s uniqueness as a city of artistic attraction," focusing on foundational arts that underpin the Korean Wave and ways to strengthen artists' global capabilities.

Additionally, the Daehangno Theater Quad and the Goryeo Theater in Almaty, Kazakhstan, will co-produce the musical "Train No. 37," initiating work exchanges in the Central Asian region, and the performance and exhibition information portal "SPAC (Seoul Portal of Artwork Certified)" will officially open in July, allowing users to view performance information at a glance.

CEO Song emphasized, "Culture and arts are the driving forces that change and foster people," adding, "The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture will help artists’ imaginations flourish and provide cultural welfare to Seoul citizens through quality content."

CEO Song Hyeongjong is a former theater director who has served as president of the Seoul Theater Association and as Seoul City’s Chief of Culture.

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