'Up to 150,000 Won Granted': Cultural Support for Youth Aged 19–34 as Culture Ministry Budget Surges 22% Next Year

Surpassing the 8 Trillion Won Hurdle,

Next Year’s Budget Jumps to 9.6 Trillion Won

Culture and Arts Budget Soars 44.6%,

Focus on Strengthening Foundational Arts

31.1 Billion Won Allocated for Basic Livelihood Support for Artist

Starting next year, approximately 9.19 million young people aged 19 to 34 will receive an annual cultural support allowance of 100,000 won. For those living outside the Seoul metropolitan area, the amount will be 150,000 won. This expansion is made possible as the budget of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is set to rise by more than 20% for the first time since 2000, enabling large-scale financial investment in youth cultural experiences, foundational arts, and K-content.

On September 4, the Ministry announced that its proposed budget for 2027 is 963.45 billion won, a 22.6% increase from this year’s 785.55 billion won. This budget growth nearly doubles the overall government budget increase rate of 12.6%. It is the first time since the administration of Kim Dae-jung in 2000 that the Ministry’s budget growth rate has surpassed 20%.

Kim Junghoon, Policy Coordination Director at the Ministry, explained in a preliminary briefing at the Seoul Government Complex on September 3, “By identifying culture, sports, and tourism as future growth engines for the nation, the government has made a bold decision to invest substantial resources,” adding, “We have overcome the long-standing 800 billion won budget threshold and entered the 900 billion won range in one leap.”

By sector, the budget for culture and the arts will surge by 44.6%, rising from 266.54 billion won to 385.45 billion won. The tourism budget will increase by 18.8% to 175.81 billion won, while the content sector will receive 177.19 billion won, up 9.5%. The sports sector budget has been set at 183.33 billion won, a 7.9% increase from last year.

The most notable program is the expansion and overhaul of the “Youth Culture Pass,” which replaces the “Youth Culture and Arts Pass.” The related budget will soar from 3.61 billion won to 79.25 billion won, approximately 22 times higher than before. The scope of recipients will be broadened from about 280,000 people aged 19–20 to approximately 9.19 million people aged 19–34, as defined by the Framework Act on Youth.

Each youth in the metropolitan area will receive 100,000 won, while those outside the metropolitan area will receive 150,000 won. Usage options will also expand from performances, exhibitions, films, and books to include sports activities.

A safety net for artists will also be strengthened. The budget for the “Basic Welfare Support for Artists” program, which covers industrial accident insurance and national pension premiums, will increase from 1.5 billion won to 31.1 billion won. For the first time, health checkup costs, previously excluded, will also be supported. The amount available for artist livelihood support loans will be raised, with living expense loans climbing from 14 billion won to 20 billion won, and jeonse (housing deposit) loans rising from 14 billion won to 40 billion won.

Policy finance to nurture K-content as a national strategic industry is set to reach a record high of approximately 2.2 trillion won. The contribution to the content strategic fund will double from 65 billion won to 130 billion won, and contributions to the Global League Fund to attract foreign investment will expand from 60 billion won to 200 billion won. The contribution to the film account will also increase from 45 billion won to 72 billion won.

Investment in regional tourism will also accelerate. Five major tourism hubs will be established around local international airports—Gimhae, Daegu, Cheongju, Muan, and Yangyang—requiring a total of 93.5 billion won, with 65.9 billion won from the national budget and 27.6 billion won from local governments. This plan aims to disperse tourism demand, currently concentrated in the metropolitan area, across the regions, in anticipation of welcoming 30 million foreign tourists.

In the sports sector, the focus will be on improving aging facilities and strengthening the infrastructure for daily sports. The budget to repair and renovate public sports facilities will more than double, rising from 95.3 billion won to 255.8 billion won. The allocation for child and youth sports activity support has been set at 42.4 billion won, about 7.7 times greater than this year’s 5.5 billion won.

Although the Ministry’s budget has increased significantly, its share of the total government budget remains at just 1.16%. Kim Junghoon emphasized, “While this is higher than last year’s 1.08%, in order to truly become a cultural powerhouse, we need to steadily raise the share to at least 2% over the medium to long term.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.