Debate over transferring Korea National University of Arts (K-ARTS) to Gwangju is scarcely dying down in and outside politics. As supporters and opponents clash over "easing the concentration in the capital area" and "undermining the competitiveness of arts education," a "package transfer" proposal has even been raised to move cultural public institutions together, including the National Theater Company of Korea.
◇ ruling party lawmaker proposes bill to transfer K-ARTS to Gwangju
The controversy began with the "Act on the Establishment and Operation of Korea National University of Arts," which Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Chung Joon-ho led on Apr. 22. The bill includes pushing a school transfer to ease the concentration in the capital area in exchange for establishing master's and doctoral degrees at K-ARTS. Immediately after the bill was introduced, the student council said it was opposed, noting that it was "pushed without consideration for students or prior discussion."
The government also drew a line against a K-ARTS transfer. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Chae Hwi-young said on the 2nd, "We have not reviewed a plan to move the campus to a specific region," and added, "The transfer issue is not something to be decided behind closed doors by a small group." Chae went on to emphasize, "It is not desirable for some opinions to be taken as if they were finalized policy."
There is considerable caution within the ruling party as well. Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-geun, whose district includes where K-ARTS is located (Seongbuk-gu-eul, Seoul), said, "It is hard to see that sufficient communication with members of the university community has taken place," and added, "In major countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, cultural and arts education institutions are generally located in large cities."
Some are also offering interpretations that examine the political backdrop to this transfer push. After the South Jeolla–Gwangju integrated metropolitan city failed to transfer the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, transferring K-ARTS was mentioned as an alternative to make up for it. A ruling party official said, "Since the government said in January that it has no plan to move central government ministries in Sejong to other regions, the bill can also be seen as being pushed in line with attracting public institutions."
◇ "along with K-ARTS, the National Theater Company and the National Ballet should be moved as a package"
Although the government and the ruling party are uniformly advancing caution, the controversy is scarcely fading. Ahead of local elections, some in the Gwangju–South Jeolla region still say that a K-ARTS transfer could be the key to resolving the worsening cultural gap between regions.
Kang Wi-won, South Jeolla Province vice governor for economic affairs, said in a call with ChosunBiz, "If a transfer is pursued, moving a single institution alone would be insufficient," and added, "Not just K-ARTS, but the entire cultural ecosystem needs to move together." Kang went on, "Rather than being isolated like the Asia Culture Center (ACC), cultural public institutions such as the National Theater Company and the National Ballet should be transferred together."
According to data titled "Performance records of national arts organizations," which lawmaker Min Hyung-bae of the National Assembly Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee received from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism last year, eight national arts organizations held 5,443 performances across 17 metropolitan governments nationwide over the past five years, with Seoul accounting for 85.5% of the total. In contrast, Daegu (1.6%) and Gwangju (0.8%) were around 1%.
In political circles, the prevailing mood is that the bill is unlikely to pass. A Democratic Party official on the National Assembly Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee said, "A large share of K-ARTS students are from the capital area, so the backlash is strong, and lawmakers from the capital area also find it difficult to go along," adding, "With large constituency interests at stake, the bill will be hard to pass."
Jung, who led the bill, said, "As discussions from diverse perspectives continue, we will fully listen, including to the opposition within the university." A staffer in the lawmaker's office also said, "There has been no concrete discussion such as site selection, and we will continue our review by collecting opinions from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism."