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영어

The year 2001 was marked as the year of local culture designated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. On March 1, 2003, a local culture network was established in Gyeongju. Also, in 2005, there were loud cries for the enactment of a law on the promotion of local culture. Such phenomena are products of the decentralization and balanced national development policies of the Participatory Government. The need is on the increase to further foster local culture in line with the decentralization policies of the Participatory Government. The implementation of unbalanced growth policies in the process of radical modernization has deepened cultural unbalance among locals following the unbalanced development in the areas of economy, society and education, leading to weakening the foundation of regional culture promotion led by local governments and the civic sector and lacking in peculiar local culture programs that appeal to local residents. The change of outside environment such as the operation of hi-speed trains and the enforcement of five-day working week system gives us an opportunity with a crisis in regard to the development of regional culture, and the promotion of local culture in the 'knowledge
information industry age' will be both the motive of the recovery of local economy and the foundation of attainment of cultural-democratic welfare for the people. The current Promotion of Local Cultural Institutes Act has its own limits in the promotion of local culture and arts. To overcome such limits, a Local Culture Development Act should be introduced to create a fund, train specialized manpower and improve local cultural infrastructures, which will replace the existing Promotion of Local Cultural Institutes Act with its partial adoption. The Local Culture Development Act, as its major contents, needs to include the training of local culture personnel, the expansion of cultural facilities, the utilization of telecommunication technology and providing of relevant information, the strengthening of support activities for the civic sector, etc.
One of the important functions of the cultural policies is to upgrade cultural infrastructures, including the formation of cultural organizations, the maintenance of facilities, and the improvement of information systems. To vitalize the culture and arts activities, it needs to form human organizations of artists, etc. concerned, to install physical facilities of theaters, art museums, etc., and furthermore to build information systems related to culture and arts. Based on such cultural infrastructures, it will be possible to accomplish the promotion of local culture
which form the keynote of balanced local development and cultural welfare for the people.