Since the enactment of ‘Support for Arts and Culture Education Act’ in 2005, Korea's arts and culture education has grown remarkably with the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (KACES) for the past 13 years.
The purpose of Korea's Support for Arts and Culture Education Act is ‘to revitalize arts and culture education, and to contribute to improving the quality of cultural life of the people and to strengthening the cultural capability of the State’. In addition, it provides that ‘culture and arts education shall aim at education through which all people can enjoy arts and culture and build creativity. Moreover, all people are guaranteed equal opportunities to systematically study and receive education on arts and culture throughout their lives according to their interest and aptitude regardless of age, gender, disability, social status, economic circumstances, place of residence, etc.’
Foundations are being formed for more people to enjoy arts and culture, with the increased budget of KACES currently at 130 billion KRW, which was only 8.8 billion KRW in 2005, along with 5,000 teaching artists in 2017, which tripled from number of 1,800 in 2005. As a result, the number of participant beneficiaries has quadrupled from 710,000 in 2005 up to 3.1 million in 2017.
Without being satisfied with such quantitative growth, KACES is preparing for another qualitative leap forward. We dream of Korea with a virtuous circle, where all its people can feel the joy of creation through arts and culture, and where such arts in daily lives can, in turn, stimulate arts in other lives as well.
KACES is the cornerstone of an era of living culture that enriches the lives of all Koreans. Efforts will be made in searching for the meanings of coexistence with its experiences along the past 13 years, as a bridge that keeps close ties and interactions with the international community, and as an institution that practices open education in an era of new technologies.
KACES will review its values of arts and culture education in its early days of establishment, and will become an institution that makes better future together with the international community.