by Park Pyunghee
Published 13 May.2026 08:00(KST)
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on May 13 that it will launch a new initiative, the "2026 Regional Humanities Practice Project," in collaboration with the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service.
The Regional Humanities Practice Project is designed to address local community issues through humanities-based activities and to promote the social value of the humanities. Residents, humanities organizations, and experts will work together to directly identify a wide range of social challenges faced by their communities and implement humanities-based solutions. The Ministry will invite applications from 10 institutions nationwide to operate the project, with the application period open until June 5.
Eligible applicants are private organizations and institutions capable of operating at a metropolitan level. Each selected operator will receive project funding ranging from at least 120 million won to a maximum of 200 million won per institution, with the exact amount determined by project size and scope.
The selected organizations will serve as key hubs for establishing a "practical regional humanities cooperation system," bringing together cultural foundations, universities, private research institutes, humanities activists, and local residents to create a sustainable regional humanities ecosystem.
Selected operators will be tasked with two main missions. First, they will define core issues facing their local communities from a humanities perspective and plan and manage "autonomous design-type practical regional humanities projects" that enable residents to participate as primary stakeholders.
Second, they must operate an essential "generation exchange project," in which local youth become recorders who document and share the lives of older adults, with the goal of enhancing communication and understanding between generations.
Through this project, the Ministry aims to engage more than 50,000 local residents, demonstrating that the humanities serve as a practical engine for change in both daily life and local communities. The process of residents diagnosing local problems and seeking solutions through humanities-based imagination is expected to further strengthen community bonds.
Applications can be submitted from May 13 to June 5 through the national subsidy management system, "e-Naradoum." An information session regarding the project will be held online via Zoom at 2 p.m. on May 20 for those who register in advance. Final selections will be announced in June following document reviews and interviews. The official announcement can be found from May 13 on the websites of the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service and the Humanities Network.
A policy official at the Ministry stated, "This project is significant because it enables residents to go beyond being mere beneficiaries of humanities activities and become agents of regional change. We hope the practical value of the humanities will become a real driving force in solving various issues in our society."