South Korean arts funding shows heavy Seoul metropolitan concentration

Government support for performing arts and artist welfare in South Korea is heavily concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, according to data analyzed by National Assembly member Yoon Yong-geun.

In the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s ‘Performing Arts Mid-to-Long-term Creative Support Project,’ 76.7% of the 60 selected organizations were based in the capital region. Furthermore, 67% of the actual performances funded by the project took place in Seoul, Gyeonggi, or Incheon. Several provinces, including Ulsan and Jeju, saw zero representation or performances under this specific program.

Financial support for artists also shows a significant regional imbalance. Analysis of the ‘Artist Living Stability Fund’ reveals that 73% of users are located in the metropolitan area. The disparity is even more pronounced in housing loans, where 86.8% of recipients were from the capital region, while several major cities reported no users at all.

Representative Yoon attributed this imbalance to structural issues, noting that the physical accessibility of support—such as the requirement to visit the Korea Artist Welfare Foundation in Seoul for in-person consultations and document submission—disadvantages artists living in rural provinces. Yoon has called for policy reforms to expand support for non-metropolitan artists starting from the 2027 budget.