Miryang City, a Premium Cultural Capital ... Selected as 'Best Cultural City'

Miryang City in South Gyeongsang Province has achieved unprecedented success in the field of culture and the arts, establishing itself as a leading cultural city of South Korea in both name and reality.

The city is being recognized for proving its policy capabilities both domestically and internationally by not only hosting festivals based on its unique cultural assets, but also by leveraging these assets as engines for urban growth.

Miryang City, South Korea's Luxury Culture Capital of 2026. Provided by Miryang City

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Miryang City's recent major achievements include being selected as the top city in the 2025 Cultural City Development Project performance evaluation, the designation of the Miryang Arirang Grand Festival as a government-designated festival, the selection of the Miryang Performing Arts Festival by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as part of the 'Local 100 (100 Local Cultural Attractions),' being elected as the chair city of the National Association of Cultural Cities, and winning selection for three consecutive years (2024-2026) in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s 'Support Project for Local Representative Arts Organizations.'

The city interprets these achievements not as the result of a single project, but as the fruit of accumulated policies that have enhanced local sustainability and mitigated the risk of population decline through a 'cultural response.'

Miryang City achieved the honor of being selected as the 'Best Cultural City of 2026,' the highest grade, for two consecutive years in the performance evaluation of the 2025 Cultural City Development Project led by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. From 2022 to 2026, the city has systematically promoted strategies for building a cultural ecosystem, revitalizing cultural spaces, and linking culture, tourism, and the economy. This has resulted in a virtuous cycle where citizen-centered participation in culture translates into everyday life, industry, and community revitalization.

A representative example of these policy results being felt on the ground is the complex cultural space 'Yeoldudal.' Created by transforming the former Miryang University, which had been neglected for 18 years, 'Yeoldudal' has become a hub for local content, attracting a resident population and serving as a center of cultural consumption, thereby invigorating the local economy. The expansion of cultural consumption and job creation are evaluated as cases where cultural policy is linked to local industry and translated into economic value.

The 'Miryang Arirang Grand Festival' has grown into a festival that transcends generations and regions by combining citizen participation programs with performances, exhibitions, and hands-on content, all centered around 'Miryang Arirang,' the region's representative traditional cultural asset. Furthermore, it has been recognized for its value as a leading festival in South Korea, having been the only government-designated cultural tourism festival in South Gyeongsang Province for 10 consecutive years since 2017.

Miryang City, Luxury Culture Capital of South Korea in 2026. Provided by Miryang City

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The Miryang Arirang Grand Festival, now in its 68th year, will be held for four days from May 7 to May 10 at Yeongnamnu Pavilion and along the Miryang River. To celebrate its 10th consecutive year as a government-designated festival, the city is preparing even richer and more sophisticated programs.

Additionally, the Miryang Performing Arts Festival has solidified its status as a leading local content festival representing South Korea, having been selected for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's 'Local 100 (100 Local Cultural Attractions).' 'Local 100' is a national project to discover and promote the tangible and intangible cultural assets of regions both domestically and internationally.

Building on this selection, Miryang City plans to strengthen its image as a 'city specialized in performances' and to develop concrete strategies to encourage tourists attending the festival to become a resident population, thereby linking residency and consumption.

This year's 26th Miryang Performing Arts Festival, under the slogan 'The City as a Stage, Everyday Life as a Performance,' will welcome citizens and tourists with a variety of performances and events at the Miryang Arirang Art Center and throughout the city during July and August.

In particular, Miryang City has been elected as the chair city for the sixth term of the National Association of Cultural Cities, and will lead solidarity and cooperation among 37 cultural cities nationwide for one year starting March 2026. This demonstrates that Miryang City's administrative credibility and capacity for cultural autonomy are at the highest level nationwide, and the city is set to host the 'National Cultural City Expo' this year.

The city aims to connect these cultural achievements to 'healing-type stay tourism,' with the goal of attracting 18 million tourists in 2026. Through the expansion of the 'Fall in Love with Miryang: Half-Price Travel' program and the Miryang Arirang Arts Troupe's three consecutive years of selection for the local representative arts organizations support project, the city plans to establish a virtuous cycle where culture and the arts enrich citizens' lives and revitalize local businesses.

A Miryang City official stated, "These achievements are the result of the cultural pride cultivated together by the citizens of Miryang," and added, "Going forward, we will continue to make creative industries based on culture the core strategy for urban growth, completing Miryang as a 'sustainable cultural city of the future' where people want to stay and the economy thrives."

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