Home > Culture > Food & Travel

Culture Ministry selects Miryang as 'Culture City of the Year'

Published: 24 Feb. 2025, 15:59

Visitors attend a cultural festival held at the now-closed Miryang National University [MIRYANG CITY]

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism designated Miryang, South Gyeongsang, as the "Culture City of the Year."

The Culture Ministry on Monday announced the results of its Culture City initiative, which has been carried out since December 2019, to fulfill one of the country's key goals of achieving balanced development across the nation. So far, a total of 24 cities have been designated.

These cities received financial support from the Culture Ministry to revive various areas of their regional culture.

Previous selected cities include Bucheon, Anseong and Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi; Gangneung and Sokcho in Gangwon; Suncheon in South Jeolla; Andong in North Gyeongsang; and Gimhae in South Gyeongsang.

The Culture Ministry said Miryang had shown outstanding performance in the cultural sector by pursuing various tourist-friendly initiatives, including the transformation of the former Miryang National University site, which had been abandoned for the past 18 years after its closure, into the "Haessal Cultural Campus."

The Haessal Cultural Campus was able to draw some 140,000 visitors just two months after opening in November 2023, according to the Culture Ministry. To ensure the long-term sustainability of these initiatives, Miryang also allocated additional city budget resources.

“Miryang has rolled out various initiatives and adequately allocated a budget for the new promotional programs that helped the city boost tourism,” the Culture Ministry said.

Visitors attend a local sports festival hosted by Miryang City [MIRYANG CITY]

As part of the Culture City initiative, each selected city launched its own events and developed a total of 5,239 cultural spaces that drew a combined number of 4.23 million tourists in 2024, according to the Culture Ministry. In 2024, the ministry allocated 1.5 billion won ($1 million) per city to support projects aimed at improving regional cultural conditions as well as discovering and promoting local cultural content. Over the next three years, 20 billion won will be allocated per region to foster intercity collaboration and cultural development.

“The ‘Korea Culture City’ project is one of the ministry’s pivotal initiatives which is expected to help the selected cities develop cultural programs and venues and provide residents with opportunities to enjoy them,” Culture Minister Yu In-chon said.