[Opinion by Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu] Finding Healing That Brings Everyday Relaxation in Culture

The reason culture is valuable is because of fun and emotion. Concert halls that make your shoulders sway and naturally bring joy, art galleries where you lose track of time admiring masterpieces?these are why people go to theaters and galleries despite high prices and long distances.

Although culture has become more popular and people’s cultural awareness has improved compared to the past, there is still a perspective that cultural activities are a luxury enjoyed only by special people or seen as wasteful.

This is true even in Nowon-gu, where I serve as the district head. It has the highest number of welfare recipients nationwide, including residents of permanent rental apartments, basic livelihood security recipients, people with disabilities, and North Korean defectors. Welfare expenses account for about 65% of the annual budget, so investment in cultural expenses for residents inevitably falls low on the priority list.

Moreover, famous performance venues and exhibition halls are concentrated in the city center and Gangnam area, and the cost burden is high, causing many inconveniences for residents to enjoy cultural life.

However, the majority of Nowon residents are not welfare beneficiaries. They make up less than 20% of the total population. Because the focus has been on welfare projects, it is true that efforts to discover cultural content that embraces all residents have been neglected. This is evident from the fact that the cultural index ranks among the lowest in Seoul’s autonomous districts, and the annual budget for major festivals is only 554 million won, which is just 0.06% of the total budget.

In these times, when people struggle to get through each day, emotional relaxation is desperately needed. If we can have a healing time to enjoy, even for just a day or sometimes an hour, by letting go of all worries through festivals where exciting performances and music by dancers come together, our lives can become much happier.

In the era of local autonomy, there is nothing better than festivals and cultural events to promote a region. A representative example is the Sancheoneo Festival held since 2003 in Hwacheon, Gangwon-do, a remote mountain village near the front line. After long-term efforts, it has grown into a major winter festival attracting one million visitors annually. This year, nearly 4 billion won was invested in preparation, drawing many people. The economic ripple effect alone amounts to about 100 billion won, equivalent to one-third of Hwacheon County’s annual budget.

Seoul’s autonomous districts are no different. They are finding their identity and creating festivals symbolizing their regions by adding stories. Nearby festivals such as the Jungnang-gu Rose Festival, Gangnam Festival, Songpa Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival, and Guro G-Festival provide various attractions and entertainment through aggressive budget investments, achieving enormous economic side effects.

Nowon also has festivals that have continued for several years. Since taking office as district head, I have been working to raise the level of these festivals within feasible limits. The ‘Nowon Tal Festival,’ Nowon’s representative festival now in its seventh year, initially emphasized resident participation but had a strong character of ‘mobilizing residents.’ To meet residents’ demands for attractions and entertainment, we invited professional performance teams from home and abroad to enhance the festival’s excitement.

The audience’s reaction was immediate. Spectators watching the parade competition exclaimed “Wow~~” in many places and were surprised, saying, “Do such foreign teams come to Nowon too?” For that time, the festival and the audience became one.

This is also proven by numbers. By commissioning KT to analyze big data, we identified the number of visitors during each festival period. The Nowon Tal Festival attracted 230,000 spectators, and the economic ripple effect reached 2.8 billion won, about ten times the festival budget of 290 million won, greatly benefiting the local economy.

Another key to the success of Nowon’s festivals is the role of local politicians. Nowon residents have the right to enjoy culture as citizens. Thanks to the efforts of several city council members, we have received substantial festival budget support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, improving the quality of performances.

Going forward, to overcome the inherent limitations of being a typical bedroom community, we plan to continue developing local cultural festivals. First, we will regularize the ‘Nowon Six Major Cultural Festivals’: the Nowon Tal Festival, Taegangneung Cultural Festival, Children’s Festival, Danghyeoncheon Lantern Festival, Drone Science Festival, and Gyeongchun Line Autumn Concert.

We will also cooperate with the Buk Seoul Museum of Art. Building on the success of last year’s Korean Modern and Contemporary Masterpieces Exhibition, which attracted 150,000 visitors, this year we plan to showcase European masterpieces by Chagall, Van Gogh, Monet, and others. Additionally, the recently opened Light Garden in the Gyeongchun Line Railroad Park in Seoul is being enhanced.

Each local government is implementing various policies to improve residents’ quality of life. Culture, which provides residents with emotion and joy, is as important as welfare and job policies that help those in need. We will continue to create diverse and high-quality cultural programs so that residents exhausted by daily life can heal.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, Seoul