Over 80,000 Youth Culture and Arts Passes Issued Within Half a Month of Application Opening

Up to 150,000 KRW Discount on Performances and Exhibitions for Youth Born in 2006
Applications Open Until May 31... First Come, First Served by Region

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 24th that the issuance rate of the 'Youth Culture and Arts Pass' exceeded 50% within just two weeks of its launch.

The Youth Culture and Arts Pass is a program that supports up to 150,000 KRW when young people born in 2006 (born between January 1 and December 31, 2006) book cultural and artistic performances and exhibitions. The Ministry began accepting applications from 10 a.m. on the 6th, and as of the 21st, 80,201 people, accounting for 50.1% of the total 160,000 eligible applicants this year, had applied for the pass.

As of the second week of March, the most booked performance using the Youth Culture and Arts Pass was the musical 'Jekyll & Hyde', and the most booked exhibition was 'The Immortal Painter Van Gogh Exhibition'.

'Jekyll & Hyde' is a musical that has been loved for a long time since its domestic premiere in 2004, and the 20th anniversary commemorative performance will continue until May 18 at Blue Square in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. 'The Immortal Painter Van Gogh Exhibition', held at the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-gu until the 16th, attracted 350,000 visitors. The exhibition will continue from the 25th at the Daejeon Museum of Art.

Musical 'Jekyll and Hyde' performance scene [Photo by Odi Company]

National cultural and arts institutions such as the National Theater of Korea, as well as nine local governments including Incheon Metropolitan City and public cultural and arts institutions, offer ticket discount services to Youth Culture and Arts Pass users. Detailed information about participating institutions and performances can be found on the official website and is also disclosed monthly through official social media (SNS) channels.

The Ministry plans to release reviews from users born in 2005 who first received and used the Youth Culture and Arts Pass last year on its official YouTube and Instagram accounts this week.

The Youth Culture and Arts Pass can be applied for through the official website, and the issuance period is until May 31. Since issuance is on a first-come, first-served basis according to the allocated number of youth per region, it may close early depending on the situation. Youth can immediately use the points from the issued Youth Culture and Arts Pass to book concerts, musicals, classical performances, and exhibitions, with the usage period lasting until December 31 of this year from the date of issuance.

However, users who receive the Youth Culture and Arts Pass but do not use it even once by the end of June will not be able to use the points from July 1. The Ministry plans to recover unused funds by the end of June and reissue them in the second half of the year so that more young people can enjoy culture and arts.