Neighborhood Culture Becomes a Product... Tongmyong University, Busan Nam-gu Cultural Foundation Try a New Approach

Joint Development of Art Merchandise and Cultural Content to Revitalize Cultural Spaces

Combining University Expertise with Cultural Resources and Corporate Capabilities

What happens when cultural resources scattered throughout a neighborhood meet an idea? Tongmyong University has joined forces with the Busan Nam-gu Cultural Foundation and a company to turn local cultural resources into content.

Tongmyong University said on October 13 that its Anchor Project Group, led by Cha Jicheol, had signed an agreement on October 6 on campus with the Busan Nam-gu Cultural Foundation, led by CEO Gu Bunho, and Site Branding Co., Ltd. The agreement aims to develop local cultural content and revitalize cultural spaces.

The agreement was pursued to connect the three organizations' human and material resources and professional expertise, add new value to local culture, and establish a framework for cooperation that contributes to the development of the local community.

Tongmyong University’s Anchor Project Group is signing a memorandum of understanding with the Busan Nam-gu Cultural Foundation and Site Branding on the 6th to develop local cultural content and revitalize cultural spaces.

Attendees at the signing ceremony included Cha Jicheol, head of Tongmyong University's Anchor Project Group; Lee Seungheon, head of the Department of Interior Architecture; Gu Bunho, CEO of the Busan Nam-gu Cultural Foundation; and Ahn Jihyeon, a director at Site Branding Co., Ltd. They discussed ways to work together to develop local culture.

The areas of cooperation range from developing art merchandise and cultural content to operating cultural spaces. The three organizations agreed to jointly develop products and content using local cultural resources, and to plan and operate programs to revitalize cultural spaces. They also plan to identify and pursue cultural projects connected to the local community through cooperation among local communities, industry and academia.

Each organization will have a distinct role. Tongmyong University's Anchor Project Group will use the university's human and material resources and professional expertise to develop content and lead projects linked to the local community. The Busan Nam-gu Cultural Foundation will support project planning and operations based on local cultural resources and its arts and culture network, and work to revitalize cultural spaces. Site Branding Co., Ltd. will also contribute to content development and related projects.

The key to this collaboration is to turn existing local cultural resources into content that residents can experience firsthand. If art merchandise and cultural programs are developed and lead to greater use of cultural spaces, the ways in which local culture is used could also expand.

Cha Jicheol, head of Tongmyong University's Anchor Project Group, said, "This is a meaningful starting point for a university, local cultural institutions and businesses to combine their respective expertise and develop local cultural resources into something of new value."

Attention is now focused on whether cooperation with the local community will identify cultural content and programs that residents can experience firsthand and create a sustainable model of cooperation among local communities, industry and academia in which the community and the university grow together.

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