The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism selected Yeongwol-gun and Chungju as "Cultural City of the Year"... 30 city performance checks in total

*This content was translated by AI.

The "cultural city" policy, which has been promoted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-young), has become a key driver to overcome the regional extinction crisis and revitalize the local economy.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on the 11th, "As a result of examining the performance of a total of 30 cities, including the 2nd to 4th cultural cities (17 places) and the "Korean cultural cities (13 places)," 6.42 million people enjoyed culture through cultural city projects and 4,060 idle spaces were reborn as cultural hubs.

Among them, "Yeongwol-gun" was selected among the 2nd to 4th cultural cities and "Chungju City" among the Korean cultural cities.

Since designated as the fourth cultural city in 2022, Yeongwol-gun has been building a "cultural mine city" brand, which means "discovering the stories and cultures of local residents like digging minerals in mines," based on the regional characteristics of the "abandoned mine area." As part of this, the "Citizen Record Group" was recruited to re-examine the mining culture and weave the records to publish "Yeongwol Mining and Machari" from the perspective of the residents.

In addition, as a core project, it operated a "local life laboratory" where residents directly discover and solve local problems, growing 6,799 residents into cultural subjects, more than five times higher than the previous year. In addition, four "cultural charging shops" were created to create a site for residents' cultural life and 67 connected spaces, expanding cultural spaces in every corner of nine towns and villages to bridge the gap in cultural activities between regions.

In 2025, the first year of the "Korean Cultural City," Chungju-si built a virtuous cycle ecosystem in which Korean traditional music permeates citizens' daily lives and expands to large industries with the vision of a "Korean traditional music content hub city." In particular, it promoted the "Chungju Masterpiece" project to improve the quality of Korean traditional music performances and support branding.

It attracted a total of 56,000 spectators through the water-based fireworks show "Universe on the Lake" and the ▶ music festival "WITH GUGAK" set in ▶ Tangeum Lake, contributing to a 40% increase in the number of Korean traditional music performances in Chungju compared to the previous year, enriching the Korean traditional music ecosystem. In addition, it played a role as a base for enjoying Korean traditional music culture in the Chungcheong region by promoting Korean traditional music gatherings (communities) in solidarity with 26 local governments in ▶ Chungcheong Province and linking Chungju Korean traditional music contents to large-scale events held in Cheongju and Yeongdong, ▶ Chungcheongbuk-do.

Thirty cultural cities across the country have prepared cultural enjoyment programs in the living area so that residents can enjoy culture closely in their daily lives. Among the 2nd to 4th cultural cities, ▶ Uijeongbu City attracted 55,000 visitors to cultural spaces such as Ieum, a renovated Uijeongbu station, up 176% from the previous year. ▶ Gimhae City has been reborn as a complex cultural space with history when it has to go to an idle space, attracting 56,000 people. ▶ Iksan-si has 2,755 citizens from all over the city participate in the 'Three Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand Thous. ▶Dalseong-gun trained residents as cultural planners through the 'Dalseong Cultural Planning School' and independently operated 131 specialized programs.

Among Korean cultural cities, ▶ Tongyeong City established a new "Tongyeong Civic Choir" to realize a music city where citizens are the main subjects and operated a "Citizen Orchestra" so that more than 3,000 citizens can enjoy music. ▶In order to transform the entire city center into an art museum in daily life, Suseong-gu has established cultural bases such as Deulan Art Village Studio and held a Media Art Festival, with about 980,000 people watching media art.

Cultural cities have also revitalized the local economy by fostering their cultural resources into high value-added industries. Among the 2nd to 4th cultural cities, ▶Milyang City attracted more than 30,000 visitors by promoting a "local expo" that compiles local contents such as "Milyangdae Festa" and "Sunshine Shop," and ▶Chuncheon City held a waterfront specialized cultural festival based on Uiam Lake to boost tourism. ▶ Bupyeong-gu planned a "Music Flow Festival" taking advantage of the historical characteristics of the inflow of music from various fields due to the presence of the U.S. Forces Korea Support Command "ASCOM" in the past, and laid the foundation for revenue generation by recording and distributing local music history.

Sejong Special Self-Governing City, a ▶ 'Korean Culture City' among Korean cultural cities, held the 'Hangul Product Fair' for the first time and attracted 500 million won in public and private investments and donations to create a sustainable Hangul cultural ecosystem. ▶ Jeonju City established a cooperative system with 21 companies in the Palbok Industrial Complex to foster realistic contents that put cutting-edge technology on traditional culture, and ▶ Jinju City opened the Yudeung creative platform "Jinju Bitmaru" to create a comprehensive industrial foundation from creation to distribution. ▶Suncheon City attracted 284 investment consultations and 230,000 visitors by linking the festival "All-Content-Garden" and "Cultural Content Industry Exhibition," which combines cultural industries such as gardens and animation.

Cultural cities are wisely solving community problems through resident participation and cultural approaches. Among the 2nd to 4th cultural cities, ▶ Gochang-gun planned a customized healing cultural project "Touch U" for the elderly to support the emotional stability of 832 people in response to an ultra-aging society. In order to solve the problem of hollowing out of the original city center, ▶ Gongju-si has brought the boarding culture to life by tourism and revitalizing the boarding culture led by the Housing Culture Preservation Society, a resident autonomous organization. ▶Yeongdeungpo-gu encouraged residents to discover problems in the living area and solve them culturally by cultivating "neighbor cultural ambassadors" centered on various living areas such as Daelim and Mullae.

Among Korean cultural cities, ▶Busan Suyeong-gu designated Minnak Waterside Park as a non-drinking zone, where noise and odor complaints continued due to drinking by young people, and introduced various performances such as night lighting and "Milacruce Festa" to improve the constitution as a popular place for family visitors. ▶ Sokcho-si has established a wide-area cooperative model that encompasses food culture and tourism by operating the 'N(N)38 Youngbuk Culture' consultative body with nearby Goseong-gun and Yangyang-gun and jointly planning 34 cultural tourism programs.

"Over the past seven years, cultural city policies have proved that 'all regions are special in themselves,'" Minister Choi Hwi-young said. "We will spare government support so that 30 cultural cities nationwide can become a strong breakwater to prevent regional extinction and a growth engine to lead the local economy."

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*This content was translated by AI.