[Inside Chodong] Bitter End to Pure Arts and Culture Funding

Legal Battle Over Seoul International Book Fair Profits
Dispute Between Korea Publishers Association and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Government Funding for Opera Festival Also Cut Off

Recently, there have been a series of press conferences that left a bitter taste.

The Korea Publishers Association (KPA) held a press conference on the 27th in front of the King Sejong statue in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, condemning the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST). The KPA announced that it has filed an appeal lawsuit (for confirmation of invalidity and cancellation) at the Jeonju District Court in response to the MCST’s notice demanding the return of profits from the Seoul International Book Fair. The Seoul International Book Fair is an event hosted and organized by the KPA and sponsored by the MCST. The MCST conducted an audit of the book fair and, as a result, notified the KPA through its affiliated agency, the Publication Industry Promotion Agency, that the profits should be returned. However, the KPA has rejected this demand.

Earlier, on the 23rd, a press conference was held at the Seoul Arts Center for the 15th Korea Opera Festival, hosted and organized by private opera groups. The festival organizing committee stated that government support was cut this year, reducing the number of performances from eight last year to five, and that the participating private opera groups are funding the performances out of their own pockets. The committee explained that they had received an average of 450 million KRW annually from the government until last year but received no funding this year. Both the Seoul International Book Fair and the Korea Opera Festival are nationally representative events in their respective fields. These events are now struggling due to financial issues.

[Photo by Korean Publishers Association]

Of course, since these events are funded by taxpayers’ money, there should be no reckless management. It is natural for the government to oversee this. However, given the recent consecutive budget cuts in related fields, one might wonder if the government is pushing too hard.

The MCST has demanded that the KPA return 359 million KRW in profits related to the international book fair from 2018 to 2022. The KPA, however, refuses to accept the profit criteria set by the MCST. They also argue that the accounts for the 2018 and 2019 Seoul International Book Fair have already been settled. It appears there is room for dispute.

In the case of the Korea Opera Festival, the MCST support program was changed in 2020 to a public contest project by the Arts Council Korea, but the festival failed to pass the contest review this year. The budget for supporting the Korea Opera Festival and similar events has decreased from approximately 8.6 billion KRW to 7.9 billion KRW. The Korea Opera Festival is one of the largest funded events among the contest projects. A committee official mentioned that opera productions are costly due to the nature of the genre and admitted there was some miscommunication with the Arts Council. However, they also expressed disappointment, saying, “While the National Opera Company receives an annual budget exceeding 10 billion KRW, it feels disheartening that private opera groups cannot receive 500 million KRW in support.”

The current government has repeatedly expressed a strong commitment to fostering the cultural industry. Yet, according to a cultural sector insider, the ongoing friction stems from approaching the issue from an industrial perspective that excessively emphasizes efficiency. This focus on efficiency has led to the neglect of pure art fields like opera and the book industry, which is perceived as a declining sector.

A passage from a book I recently read came to mind. It said that capitalism is a highly efficient system, but its greatest flaw is pursuing efficiency as the sole value. While efficiency is important, shouldn’t policies be more balanced and inclusive?