Seoul to host cultural programs for the disadvantaged

Home > National > Social Affairs

Seoul to host cultural programs for the disadvantaged

Published: 12 Apr. 2023, 18:14 Updated: 12 Apr. 2023, 19:29

Seoul announced Wednesday that it would set aside 63.5 billion won ($48 million) this year to increase “cultural inclusiveness” for the disabled and low-income communities. Among 18 programs serving that goal, one involves lowering ticket fees to 1,000 won on 16 occasions to watch performances, such as the one pictured above, at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Seoul is to plan eighteen cultural programs this year for some 630,000 people in the capital who are disabled or economically disadvantaged.

The city government announced Wednesday in a press briefing that it was allocating 63.5 billion won ($48 million) on initiatives for “the culturally marginalized,” up 14 percent compared to last year.

This year’s budget accounts for 11 percent of the total budget for the Culture Headquarters at Seoul Metropolitan Government. Seoul said it plans to increase this percentage to 20 percent by 2026.

“This is the first step in reducing cultural exclusion and resolving deepening social conflicts,” said Choi Kyeng-ju, head of the city’s Culture Headquarters, the team heading the effort.

“Through tailored cultural policy design, we will create a ‘culturally attractive’ city where all citizens can enjoy cultural arts without barriers.”

Among the 18 projects, one is the so-called Seoul Youth Culture Pass, which involves the city issuing a cultural voucher worth 200,000 won to 28,000 people who are 19 years of age living in Seoul with household incomes below 150 percent of the median income.

Applications will be received on the city government’s youth portal website from April 19 to 30. Those who receive the vouchers can sign up for cultural performances on the Seoul Youth Culture Pass website. Foreigners are also able to apply.

Free plays, concerts and musicals that have been shown to sixth graders from 2021 in the Spring Day program will be shown to sixth through ninth graders starting this year.

Nine- to 24-year-olds with mental disabilities will be invited to take free art classes, while patients with Parkinson’s disease will get free dance lessons.

Some 260 teenagers from low-income families who have a talent in art or music will be selected to receive lessons from professors in those respective fields.

The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts will hold 16 performances throughout the year with tickets costing only 1,000 won, with four of those performances held exclusively for people who are physically or economically disadvantaged.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]