Busan mayor asks culture minister for dome arena support

Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo met with Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young on Monday to discuss policy cooperation in culture, sports and tourism, the city said.

Jeon briefed the minister on key projects the city is pursuing and asked for central government support. He called for backing on four priorities: construction of a multipurpose dome arena; development of Art Korea Lab Busan, a creative and startup hub combining arts and technology; realistic national funding for community sports centers to expand grassroots athletic infrastructure; and cultivation of a broad cross-regional tourism zone spanning the Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang area, with Busan as the gateway.

Jeon particularly stressed the need to address the concentration of cultural infrastructure and access in the Greater Seoul area. "The government should pay close attention so that Busan can play a genuine role as a cultural hub for the southern region," he said.

Choi introduced a range of national programs that local governments can draw on and asked Busan to participate actively. The programs include Kkum-ui Yesuldan, a performing arts education initiative for children and youth; Munhwa Yoil, a program expanding cultural access from once a month to once a week; a reform of the preferential local-bookstore purchasing system for public and school libraries; and support for upgrading aging cultural and sports facilities.

Busan and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism agreed to maintain ongoing communication across culture, sports and tourism — going beyond project-by-project consultations — and to work at the staff level to flesh out the matters discussed Monday.

"Busan is a city with assets few others can match — the ocean and port, film and video," Jeon said. "I am committed to ensuring that residents can enjoy culture in their daily lives and that local artists can build their careers here in Busan."