Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Invests 40.4 Billion KRW to Support Hiring of 4,100 in Performing Arts Sector

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 12th that it will invest approximately 40.4 billion KRW from the first supplementary budget this year to support the hiring of 4,100 personnel in the performing arts sector.

First, the Ministry will implement a personnel support project in the performing arts field in collaboration with the Korea Arts Council to support continuous artistic activities of on-site performing arts workers affected by COVID-19. A budget of 33.6 billion KRW will be allocated to hire about 3,500 people. This project was first launched last year with the third supplementary budget (28.1 billion KRW). This time, the budget has been expanded to more broadly support the recovery of the performing arts sector.

Both performing groups and individuals can participate in the project, and each artist can receive up to 1.8 million KRW per month in labor costs for up to five months covering all aspects of performing arts activities. The Ministry plans to collaborate with associations and organizations in each performing arts field to ensure effective execution of the project.

Additionally, the Ministry is promoting a digital job support project for performing arts works in cooperation with the Producers Association to enhance digital capabilities in the performing arts sector and provide young people (aged 15 to 40 as of the hiring date) with work experience using digital technology. This project will hire 600 people with a budget of 6.8 billion KRW.

Performing arts companies or organizations wishing to participate in this project must submit a hiring plan based on the digital job roles required for performing arts works. Selected participants can receive up to 1.8 million KRW per month in labor costs for up to six months per hired person.

Detailed information on participation conditions, procedures, and schedules for each project can be found on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s website and the respective organizations’ websites.

A Ministry official stated, "The damage to the performing arts sector due to COVID-19 last year reached 329.1 billion KRW, which is a very serious level," adding, "We will do our best to execute and manage the projects with related organizations so that each project can serve as a catalyst for overcoming the damage and enabling the performing arts sector to take a leap forward."