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Memorandum submitted by Korea Arts and Culture Education Service (KACES)
Understanding the enormous and positive impact arts and arts education can have in the health of a nation and citizenry, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development launched a joint action plan to promote arts education nationwide. In order to effectively and systematically implement this plan, the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (KACES) was established in Seoul, South Korea on February 2005 as the central agency governing arts education and arts education policy across the country.
Since its founding, KACES has aimed to design and improve current arts education programs so that it may best serve and enrich the life of residents in Korea. We have focused our activities in the research, development, promotion and implementation of arts education and arts education policy through the following six programs: Arts Education in Schools, Arts Education in Communities, Training for Trainers, Advocacy and Public Awareness, artE and International Exchanges.
Day to day, KACES strives to enrich people's lives by providing a life-long access to the arts and culture. By serving as a catalyst to cross-sectional partnerships among government agencies, regional communities, cultural institutions and public schools, we hope to build a stronger awareness and participation in a culture that belongs to all of us.
Creativity is perceived today as the source of national competitiveness and its key component in most countries around the globe. Today, creativity is no longer a simple concept referring to an intellectual faculty, but has gained a broader relevance, becoming a social, economic and cultural value and a goal pursued not just in education, but across all sectors of society.
South Korea is no exception to this rule. The public education system largely failed to meet this need, becoming one of the sectors of Korean society notoriously lagging behind others in reforms. Educational systems are, in fact, one of society's most recalcitrant institutions to change, as evidenced by experiences in other countries as well. As an essential public service, the benefits of education must be dispensed to all with fairness and transparency. This principle guides the system: all citizens receive the quality education as others; no better or worse. This characteristic of education explains the stiff administrative procedures and nationwide organization the process requires. This is also the reason why some see public schools as the 'tomb of education,' while others consider them as the birthplace of education.
In South Korea, attempts to unleash the creative potential of its society are being made both at the level of education and cultural policies. As universities are considered the culmination of learning in Korea's educational system, the country's educational policy heavily focused on the improvement of students' performance on college entrance examinations. Creative education is not an easy sell on students, parents, teachers, and schools accustomed to pursuing the more immediate goal of successful transitions to higher education. In 2003, the Korean government unveiled its cultural policy vision, formulated as "Creative Korea." The government affirmed, on this occasion, its view of culture as having a direct impact on the lives of Koreans, which may be summed up as follows: First, cultural rights (rights to enjoy culture) are among the basic rights of citizens and enabling conditions for their pursuit of happiness. Second, culture is indispensable for developing creativity in Korean people, and creativity is a major source of national competitiveness.
We have the pilot program which contains very similar concept with Creative Partnership Program and links arts organizations, cultural and arts infrastructure[1] and schools into a module for joint educational projects is another ingenious initiative. By sharing human and physical infrastructure, these joint projects benefit from synergy. Each of these modules is referred to as "creative partnership." Innovative though the idea is, it takes efforts at multiple levels to create partnerships that are cohesive enough to actually carry out educational programs. Members of these partnerships, first of all, need an efficient communication channel to ensure that they share the same goals and perception of cultural and arts education. No less important is adequate funding and administrative support from local authorities. Advocacy efforts to gain public support for education in culture and the arts are crucial to provide concrete shape to these projects. About 200 cultural and arts education-related projects are launched every year in schools and communities across South Korea through our program.
Different countries have different environments for arts education. The reality of arts education and its impact on societies also vary a great deal. Yet, there is one common concern shared by all those dedicated to the cause of arts education, regardless of their nationality. We are all wrestling with a general lack of understanding of the personal and social value of arts education and its potential benefits. Creative Partnership Program in this perspective has been outstanding example to the international society which shows the potential of creativity education for all. Arts education for all, nurturing creativity and imagination for all members of society, is an essential condition for us to be able to live a happier and more fulfilling existence in this world.
July 2007 [1] Arts centers, museums, galleries, libraries, welfare centers and culture houses, etc. |