The Presidential Committee for Cultural Enrichment recently hosted a conference under the theme of, ” Cultural activities improve the quality of life.”

Held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on November 12, the conference brought together experts from across the nation to share successful examples of helping to raise public awareness about the value of the arts and of local fairs and festivals.

“Being part of our community's arts scene and attending local festivals is essential to our lives, could be a new growth engine for local businesses and is the core factor that could solve social conflicts and enrich our lives,” said President Kim Dong-ho of the Presidential Committee for Cultural Enrichment. “However, quite a few people see the arts as being too unattainable or as being out of touch with their day-to-day lives,” he said.

“Good examples and ideas presented here will, hopefully, verify that getting involved in the arts is not something too hypothetical or too abstract to be put into action, but something that can be directly connected to our life and can be part of our daily lives, which is important.” The president continued to emphasize that, “The effort to get more people aware of how important artistic and musical activities are in their lives will pave the way toward our goal of cultural enrichment. Any discussion concerning this cannot pass without mentioning the importance of making the arts and local traditions part of our lives.”



Professor Werner Sasse said in his remarks that, “Korea now sees a collision between its old and new societies. Its traditions and beliefs have gone through ceaseless confusion and change for almost 150 years and the country now needs to rediscover and revive its heritage.”

“Who’s the owner of the community that has a common historical and cultural identity? It’s not 'the system' that keeps the neighborhood running, but the citizens who live there; to be more specific, it's the people themselves,” he said.

“Most local fairs or festivals were unknown until they were covered in the newspapers or on TV. If people are given a calendar that shows the days when each fair and festival takes place, then more people would plan in advance and come out and enjoy the events,” he added.



Han Geun-tae, a member of the Presidential Committee for Cultural Enrichment, also rose to the podium, saying that, “Intellectual exchanges are more important than anything.” To keep making leaps forward in industry, and to not repeat previous trials and errors, the provinces and cities and those who are involved in organizing fairs and exhibits there should constantly communicate with each other," he said.

“The most boring year-end party would be one where experts working in the same field get together and only talk about the same things they do every day,” Han added.

“Alumni reunions, where old friends who work in a variety of fields get together and share their respective knowledge and experience, sound a lot more fun, and provincial experts from different fields and with different experiences should frequently come together and share their own stories.”



Later in the day, there were a series of constructive presentations on the wave of arts and music development efforts being made across the nation. There is the Modern Alley in Daegu, a neighborhood where both modern and historical traces and sites can be found. The Hanok Village in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do (North Jeolla Province), features many traditional homes and buildings. The Dongpirang Mural Village near Tongyeong, in Gyeongsangnam-do (South Gyeongsang Province), features public art exhibits. The traditional Motgol market in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province), sells a variety of wares, and the traditional Gurume resort in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do (North Gyeongsang Province), lets people experience many traditional aspects of rural life. Finally, the People’s Art and Culture Center in Incheon offers visitors a range of art exhibits.

Following the presentations there were a series of in-depth discussions on ideas and strategies to further develop the arts and music scene in rural and provincial cities across the country.

By Jeon Han, Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Jeon Han
hanjeon@korea.kr