Minister Hwang Hee Meets with Cultural Artists to Hear Opinions on the 'Creative Preparation Fund' Project

Hwang Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] On the 25th, Hwang Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, held a meeting at the Artist's House in Daehangno, Seoul, to listen to on-site responses regarding the Creative Preparation Fund project, a representative support program for artists.

The meeting was attended by a total of eight artists, including four field artists such as classical and popular music artists, musical actors, and choreographers who have experience applying for the Creative Preparation Fund project, as well as four participants from the 'Young Artists Meeting' and 'Disabled Artists Performance Group Meeting' held since Minister Hwang took office.

Started in 2015, the Creative Preparation Fund project supports artists who have completed the certification of artistic activities under the 'Artist Welfare Act' and whose income is within 120% of the median income, providing 3 million KRW per person to prevent interruption of artistic activities due to economic reasons. Especially from this year, the system has been improved to allow emerging artists who have just begun their artistic activities to receive the Creative Preparation Fund to help young creators settle in the art world.

The attendees conveyed vivid voices about the significant meaning of the Creative Preparation Fund for artists and offered various opinions on related systems such as the certification of artistic activities and overall artist welfare policies. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to reflect these opinions in improving policies such as the Creative Preparation Fund project and the certification of artistic activities system.

At this meeting, previous participants of on-site meetings were invited again, and Minister Hwang directly explained how the suggestions made at that time are being reflected in actual policies. Baek Seungjun, CEO of the art company Ttomo, Director Hwang Yeeun, media art artist Lim Jiyeon, who attended the 'Young Artists Meeting' held in March, and Jung Jeongyun, CEO of Handspeak, who attended the 'Disabled Artists Performance Group Meeting,' participated in this follow-up meeting. Previous attendees had suggested ▲improvements to the certification of artistic activities system ▲support for art companies and expansion of technology convergence support ▲expansion of dedicated spaces for disabled artists.

Minister Hwang explained that improvements are being pursued regarding the certification of artistic activities system, such as expanding the scope of recognized materials and diversifying certification methods, and introduced plans to establish the 'Art-Culture Lab,' a comprehensive support base for artists. He also provided information on plans to create specialized performance halls and rehearsal rooms for disabled artists.

Minister Hwang said, "Since taking office as Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism in February, I have been listening closely to the voices of artists struggling due to COVID-19 in many art fields," adding, "As the minister in charge, I thought it necessary to communicate how the voices of artists in the field are actually reflected and implemented in policies, not just to listen to opinions, so I arranged this meeting."