The Korean government will change the lights for private museums

A few days ago, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Korea established a department specializing in museums, aiming at concentrating human and material resources and activating the museum industry in the country. The establishment of a specialized agency called "Museum Policy Division" was seen as a favorable policy signal by the Korean museum community.

Since the development of modern museums in Korea, there are many deficiencies that need to be changed. For example, museums have always been a “display area” in the eyes of the South Korean public. Audiences can only passively accept information. In order to change this situation, the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has made many attempts. Earlier this year, the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism spent 872 million won to create an “educator” project, trying to inject fresh blood into 59 museums. The project employs a group of experts and scholars in the fields of museology, fine arts, history, and other fields to design relevant “museum-type education” programs for museums and change the image of the museum’s “feeding ducks” to allow the audience to pass a series of Enjoy the exhilarating and experiential activities and experience the fun of visiting the museum.

In addition, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also strengthened the collaboration between museums and local governments. There are 21 museums in Ningyo-gun, Gangwon-do. It is the largest self-government area in Korea. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism cooperated with local self-government organizations in planning the “Museum Train” project, allowing the audience to take a train on a family basis and visit the museums in Ninghee County to increase the number of museum visitors and tap into local museums. The potential market value.

For private museums where operations are difficult, the government has also taken a series of measures to support it. Private museums have encountered many operational difficulties. For example, the amount of electricity consumed by the display lighting equipment is a significant expense in operating expenses. Lighting costs of some private museums account for about 10% of total expenditure. In order to support private museums, the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to replace the lighting equipment of 251 private museums throughout the country with LED lights in 2013, which is estimated to cost more than 4.6 billion won. This will save the museum nearly half of its electricity bill. The Korea Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that although these museums are privately operated, the characteristics of their exhibitions for the public have the color of public cultural facilities and it is reasonable to appropriately support them. “Activating the Museum is also very helpful for increasing the number of jobs and improving the quality of life in the country's cultural and leisure life. It can be described as 'three birds with one stone',” said Yong Wingsheng, head of the Culture and Leisure Policy Division of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Recently, in order to further systematically and centrally promote the reform and development of the museum industry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to integrate the previously scattered museum-related policies and to use the “creative museum” project as the centerpiece of the museum’s policy curriculum. We will fully revitalize the Korean museum industry from the aspects of museum human resources specialization, high-efficiency management, systematic systemization, demonstration and diversification of event projects. Of course, the project is still faced with many problems, the most intractable of which is capital investment. In response, Kim Jong-soo, director of the Museum’s Policy Division, said that the department is currently formulating a long-term development plan and trying to bring about changes to Korean museums through concrete policies that are effective.