Annual 9 Million Won for 3,000 Young Artists in the Basic Arts... MCST Launches "K-Art Young Creators Support" Project

Ministry to Provide Direct Support to Young Creators in the Basic Arts Sector
Literature, Visual Arts, Performing and Multidisciplinary Arts Eligible... Applications Open from March 3

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 23rd that, together with the Arts Council Korea, 17 metropolitan and provincial governments nationwide and their regional culture foundations, it will launch a pilot project titled "K-Art Young Creators Support" and begin accepting applications from March 3.

Choi Hwiyeong, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is listening to opinions from the field at a roundtable with performing artists held at the Artists' House in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The core of this project is to provide an annual creative grant of 9 million won per person to 3,000 young creators in the basic arts sector. Eligible applicants are young creators aged 39 or under (born on or after January 1, 1986), with 1,500 to be selected from the Seoul metropolitan area and 1,500 from non-metropolitan regions. The final list of grant recipients is scheduled to be announced in mid-May.

Applications will be accepted from March 3 to March 31. For the Seoul metropolitan area, applications will be received from March 3 to 30, and for non-metropolitan regions, from March 4 to 31. Those wishing to apply should first check the public notice posted on the websites of the Arts Council Korea and each regional culture foundation, and then submit their application form through the National Culture and Arts Support System.

The eligible fields are basic arts, including literature, visual arts, performing arts (theater, musicals, dance, classical music, traditional arts), multidisciplinary arts, and convergent/complex arts. Popular arts such as pop music and film are excluded from support.

The selection process will proceed in two stages. First, regional culture foundations will review applicants' creative track records and the appropriateness of their plans. Then, the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute will finalize the 3,000 grant recipients, taking into account region and artistic field. The selection results will be announced on the websites of the 17 metropolitan and provincial culture foundations nationwide.

Selected young creators will carry out their creative activities in accordance with the plans stated in their applications and must submit an interim report and a final report that includes their creative outcomes. The creative grant will be paid in two installments: 4 million won in the first half of the year and 5 million won in the second half. If an interim or final report is not submitted, subsequent grant payments will be restricted.

This pilot project will run from 2026 to 2027, and the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute will conduct evidence-based performance evaluations to empirically analyze the effectiveness of the project. It plans to systematically analyze changes in time invested in creative activities, whether creative activities increase, changes in income and expenditure, and the impact on the employment and income of young artists, in order to verify the policy effects.

Through this project, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism aims to expand direct support for young creators, which has been relatively insufficient so far, and to supplement the limitations of existing arts support policies that have focused on one-off, single-year support. As a rule, selected creators will be able to receive support again in the following year unless there are special circumstances.

An official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, "Active investment in the basic arts, which form the roots of K-culture beloved by people around the world, is crucial for its sustainability," adding, "We will strengthen creative support through cooperation and linkage between the central and local governments, expand follow-up support for the basic arts, and continue to develop policies that can be tangibly felt in the field."