Culture

Culture (문화/文化) means the distict ways of life or human capacity to act imaginatively and creatively. Culture refers to human phenomena not directly attributed to genetic inheritance, which classify and represent experiences with a variety of symbols.

So the term "culture" encompasses art, music, literature, language, fashion, architecture, cuisine, values and ideology, religion, recreational activities (festivals and holidays), and so forth.

Statutory ground
The Constitution stipulates "The State shall strive to sustain and develop cultural heritages and to enhance national culture." Article 9.

The President, at the time of his inauguration, shall take the following oath: "I do solemnly swear before the people that I will faithfully execute the Office of President by observing the Constitution, defending the State, pursuing the peaceful unification of the homeland, promoting the freedom and welfare of the people and endeavoring to develop national culture." Article 69.

So there are so many culture-related statutes ever legislated in this context as follows:
 * Culture and Art Promotion Act (문화예술 진흥법)
 * Framework Act on the Promotion of Cultural Industry (문화산업진흥 기본법)
 * Reading Culture Promotion Act (독서문화진흥법)
 * Printing Culture Promotion Act (인쇄문화산업 진흥법)
 * Publishing Culture Promotion Act (출판문화산업 진흥법)
 * Cultural Properties Protection Act (문화재보호법)
 * Cultural Properties Protection Fund Act (문화재보호기금법)
 * National Trust Act on Cultural Heritage and Natural Envioronmental Assets (문화유산과 자연환경자산에 관한 국민신탁법)
 * Act on the Protection and Investigation of Buried Cultural Properties (매장문화재 보호 및 조사에 관한 법률)
 * Multicultural Families Support Act (다문화가족지원법)
 * Act on Prevention of Suicide and Fostering of Life-Respectful Culture (자살예방 및 생명존중문화 조성을 위한 법률)

Framework Act on Culture
In December 2013, the Framework Act on Culture (문화기본법/文化基本法) was passed by the National Assembly. Thus, all Korean citizens are now legally entitled to take part in and enjoy cultural activities and benefits.

The law not only stipulates a civilian’s right to culture, but also requires the central and local governments to consider the cultural effects in making policies. The law also helps to ensure that everyone, including the underprivileged, has easy access to cultural benefits. It demands easing the regional gap in cultural benefits and requires the government to set a five-year outline to promote culture. The Law on Promoting Culture and Arts enacted in 1972 mostly helped the supply-end, supporting cultural and arts organizations, performers and artists. The new law concentrates on the demand-side, encouraging every citizen to engage in cultural activities, encompassing tourism, sports, leisure and cultural education. The law engages the dramatic changes in the cultural sphere and their necessity around the world over the past four decades.

Implications
President Park Geun-hye’s personal interest in culture helped, but more importantly, the law is keeping abreast of the trend of the current times. The president’s slogan on building a creative economy, too, is not possible without cultural engagement. British citizens helped to rebuild their country’s status by reinterpreting and promoting cultural activities and assets. Even as barriers between culture and industry have been broken and cultural input to industrial development becomes more essential, the country cannot just systematically champion one of its biggest assets - Hallyu, a global benchmark of Korean pop culture.

President Park pledged to commit two percent of the fiscal budget to promote culture. The new law could be a good starting point. It must be accompanied by supplementary acts on regional cultural promotion. As important as bolstering public access and cultural welfare is the attention to the arts and artists. The newly created evaluation on businesses’ cultural promotion could be regarded as a new burden to companies. Cooperation among government offices and local governments must be smooth to help effectively execute the law. Officials also should be attentive so that budgets are not leaked and wasted.