8% Budget Increase... K-Culture Product Center to Be Established at Gyeongbokgung Palace
44 Billion Won Invested in Intelligent Advanced Preservation R&D
Baegaksan Hanyangdoseong Trail and Promotion of Traditional Landscaping Overseas
Heo Min, Director of the Cultural Heritage Administration, Reviewing Documents on Anti-Japanese Righteous Army Yonhap News
The budget for the Cultural Heritage Administration for next year has been finalized at 1.4971 trillion won. A total of 17.9 billion won will be allocated for the World Heritage Committee, which will be held in Korea for the first time, and 16.8 billion won will be invested in establishing a K-Culture product center within Gyeongbokgung Palace.
On December 5, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced that its 2026 budget has increased by 109.7 billion won compared to this year’s 1.3874 trillion won. The general account and the special account for balanced regional development increased by 86 billion won to 1.33 trillion won, and the Cultural Heritage Protection Fund rose by 23.7 billion won to 167.1 billion won.
The 48th session of the World Heritage Committee will be held in Busan from July 12 to 29 next year. This will be the first time Korea hosts the event since joining the World Heritage Convention in 1988. Approximately 3,000 participants, including representatives from 196 governments, international organizations, and NGOs, are expected to attend.
The national heritage flagship product center to be established in Gyeongbokgung Palace has been allocated 800 million won for design costs next year. This reflects concerns that there is no flagship store for Korean traditional products, despite surging global demand driven by the popularity of the film "K-Pop Demon Hunters." Construction will be completed by 2027 with an investment of 16 billion won.
A total of 571.1 billion won has been allocated for restoration, maintenance, and the establishment of preservation infrastructure, an increase of 41.2 billion won from the previous year. New allocations include 11.9 billion won for building a branch of the National Intangible Heritage Center and 11.7 billion won to support the construction of regional transmission education centers. Disaster safety management funding has increased by 7.6 billion won to 31.6 billion won, and emergency repair projects have risen by 6.3 billion won to 10.8 billion won.
New initiatives include 4.4 billion won for developing intelligent advanced preservation technologies (R&D), 2.1 billion won for operating the Baegaksan Hanyangdoseong Trail, 2 billion won for promoting Korean traditional landscaping overseas, 1.8 billion won for utilizing and distributing Gyujanggak documentary heritage content, 1 billion won for a preliminary survey on K-intangible heritage knowledge resources, and 700 million won for restoring the value of modern heritage at the former Seoul Station.
A total of 19.3 billion won has been allocated for the maintenance and promotion of historical and cultural zones, 7 billion won for landscape improvement support, and 13.3 billion won for the Royal Culture Festival and the Joseon Royal Tombs Festival.
In the field of international cooperation, 11.1 billion won will be spent on official development assistance (ODA), 6.2 billion won for the operation of the World Heritage International Interpretation and Explanation Center and the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Intangible Heritage Center, and 3.3 billion won for supporting UNESCO and other international organizations.
For content development and distribution, 14.3 billion won has been allocated, while 4.6 billion won each will be used for channel establishment and operation, and for the improvement of information boards. Additionally, 3.1 billion won will go toward supporting World Heritage promotion.
By sector, 263.8 billion won has been allocated for policy, 100.9 billion won for cultural heritage, 90.6 billion won for natural and intangible heritage, 80.6 billion won for World Heritage, 106.7 billion won for education, research, and exhibitions, and 128.5 billion won for the management of palaces and royal tombs.
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