CRI

 [ABSTRACT]

With the advent of an aging society and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the increase in leisure time, and rising interest in improving quality of life as

the nation reaches the level of advanced economies, demand for culture and the arts has been expanding. For a sustainable ecosystem in the increasingly important field of culture and the arts, it is essential to ensure a steady supply of artists, which form the foundation of this sector-

particularly emerging young artists entering the arts scene.

However, Chungcheongbuk-do faces difficulties in securing a sufficient supply of young artists, resulting in a more severe aging trend than the 

average of other non-metropolitan regions. This is closely related to the consolidation or closure of relevant departments in private universities in 

Chungcheongbuk-do since around 2010, amid a sharp decline in the college-age population. In addition, the province suffers from a serious regional 

imbalance, with 70% of young artists concentrated in Cheongju. It is difficult to expect a future for the arts in regions where young artists are 

disappearing and local artistic activity is shrinking.

Based on the premise that a healthy regional cultural and artistic ecosystem requires a smooth and continuous supply of young artists, this study 

aims to comprehensively examine the current conditions faced by young artists in Chungcheongbuk-do, along with government policies, cases from 

other regions, and the needs of local young artists.

The ultimate goal is to propose alternatives for: 1. nurturing local young artists, and 2.attracting, integrating, and retaining young artists from outside 

the region. As the rapid decline in the school-age population has made the crisis facing universities a reality, the role of national universities—which 

are relatively less affected by this trend—has become increasingly important. However, the output of cultural and artistic professionals from national 

universities in Chungcheongbuk-do remains significantly lower than that of other regions.

In regions where higher arts education at universities is relatively weak, fostering a sustainable cultural and artistic ecosystem and training the artistic 

workforce that underpins it require social consensus within the local community to establish colleges of arts (or relevant departments). If this is not 

immediately feasible, local communities-particularly local governments and cultural foundations —inevitably must share and assume this role.

In cooperation with metropolitan-level local governments, it is necessary to establish dedicated organizations within cultural foundations focused on 

young artists, and to comprehensively and systematically implement support policies for their development, attraction, and long-term settlement.

As a priority, it is necessary to build a cooperative system between prospective artists (students enrolled in arts colleges) and the local arts 

community. Barriers to entry and participation for young artists should be lowered across various support policies. Active promotion of national-level 

support programs for young artists is required, along with a shift away from simple cash-based support toward artist-centered capacity-building 

initiatives. When formulating policies for young artists, their voices should be actively reflected. Considering that young artists tend to prioritize 

individual activities over group-based ones, active information exchange and communication through SNS and other channels should be pursued as 

alternative approaches. In the long term, the importance of collaborative efforts between local communities and universities to establish arts 

colleges for higher-level arts professionals is emphasized.

It is necessary to recognize that nurturing cultural and artistic human resources-the foundation of the cultural and artistic ecosystem—is just as 

important as building physical infrastructure. Based on this recognition, a shift in the overall direction of cultural and arts policy is required.