On November 1, Minister Yu In Chon of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) visited Cheongju City, designated Cultural City of the Year of 2024, as part of the 10^th campaign of MCST’s  Go Local to See Local 100! (“Go Local”) series. In addition to exploring the “Local 100” landmark Cheongju Culture Factory, the minister  held discussions with regional representative art organizations for 2024. He also visited the site of the “Sea of Culture” Space Creation Project in Chungcheongbuk-do to inspect the project status.

Visit to Culture Factory, winner of the Minister’s Commendation for the 2024 Local 100 Regional Cultural Awards

Engagement with the 2024 Regional Representative Arts Organizations to gather feedback for  future policies

Cheongju’s Local 100 Culture Factory is a regional cultural landmark, launched by transforming a former tobacco manufacturing plant, established in 1946, into a comprehensive cultural art space through national urban regeneration efforts. After approximately 30 public hearings, the citizens of Cheongju successfully led the revitalization of the old tobacco manufacturing factory, once an economic center of Cheongju, into a multifaceted cultural space consisting of the Culture Factory Main Building (including the Korean Craft Museum and Open Library), Dongbu Warehouse, Cheongju High-Tech Cultural Industry Complex, and the National Museum of Modern Arts–Cheongju Branch. Dongbu Warehouse, which sits within the premises of the Culture Factory, is a community cultural center and space for artistic creation that has retained its former structure as a tobacco leaf warehouse and  is playing a significant role in revitalizing the local culture. These achievements of the Culture Factory were recognized and rewarded through the designation of the site as a Local 100 last year. The Culture Factory also received the Minister’s Commendation in the 2024 Local 100 Regional Cultural Awards at the 2024 Month of Culture ceremony (October 18, 2024).

Minister Yu In Chon first visited the Citizen’s Archive “Forest of ㄱ” (pronounced “gi-yeok, which shares the same pronunciation as the Korean word for “memory”), located at High-Tech Cultural Industry Complex within the Culture Factory premises, alongside Cheongju Mayer Lee Beom Seog. During his visit, Minister Yu personally presented the Culture City of the Year plaque to Cheongju City and tour the Cultural City of the Year Cheongju Promotion Hall and Cultural Artists Archive. The Cultural City of the Year designation recognizes one city every year that showcases excellence as a cultural city. The city of Cheongju was nominated this year for utilizing their rich cultural heritage records as cultural content under the vision of building a “creative city with a strong archival culture. This year’s Culture City of the Year plaque presentation ceremony was attended by private-sector companies involved in the Cheongju Culture Sharing Project, such as SK Hynix, NH Nonghyup Bank’s Chungcheongbuk-do Headquarters, and Aero K, whose attendance emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships in making Cheongju a sustainable cultural city and advancing local cultural arts. Following the presentation ceremony, Minister Yu toured around the Culture Factory Main Building, National Museum of Modern Arts–Cheongju Branch, and the Dongbu Warehouse.

Building on his emphasis on “the importance of on-the-ground management,” Minister Yu met with the 2024 Regional Representative Arts Organizations at Dongbu Warehouse to gather their onsite feedback to incorporate into MCST’s future policies. The Regional Representative Arts Organization Support Program was rolled out by MCST this year to promote balanced regional development through culture, with a total of 42 regional representative arts organizations selected from 32 cities and counties following two rounds of applications in the first and second halves of the year. After his meeting with the organizations, Minister Yu paid a visit to one of the representative organizations, the Chungbuk Provincial Theater, to encourage the stakeholders involved.

Visit to the Dangsan Bunker of Thought, one of the venues supported by the “Sea of Culture” Space Creation Project of Chungcheongbuk-do

Communicating the value of local culture through the Local 100 initiative and promoting the fostering of vibrant cities through the Culture City program

Minister Yu In Chon also visited the Dangsan Bunker of Thought in Chungcheongbuk-do, a site supported through the MCST’s “Sea of Culture” Space Creation Project. Opened on October 15, the Dangsan Bunker of Thought was formerly an unused military facility, originally built in 1973 as a war-time military command center. Starting next year, Chungcheongbuk-do will start renovations on the 200 meter-long bunker interior, with the aim to create an exhibition space utilizing media art and a comprehensive cultural space mainly for family experience activities by 2027.

“Regions need to find their unique color and hone their competitive edge to differentiate themselves from others if they are to build themselves up and achieve balanced development,” stated Minister Yu. “The power of differentiation can only be unlocked through culture. The value of local culture, as embodied in sites like the Culture Factory, will be further communicated through initiatives such as Local 100. The Ministry will continue to support all local communities to transform themselves into vibrant cities through the Culture City Program.”