Describe the main features of the policy/measure:
The culture voucher (integrated cultural pass) is a project to provide cultural service exchange vouchers worth 110,000 Won per person per year (as of 2022) to financially underprivileged groups. The project has been expanding through increasing the range of uses of the culture voucher (culture, travel, and sports viewing), the amount of support per person in 2017–2021, and the number of beneficiaries in 2022 (100% beneficiary rate). In the meantime, the culture voucher program has been focusing on improving the convenience of use in 2015 (issued per household per person), improving the accessibility of issuance and use for minorities (the elderly, the disabled, etc.) in 2018, enhancing the convenience of recharging (ARS) in 2019, and launching the mobile app and start auto recharging in 2021. As the medium for cultural enjoyment has shifted from analog to digital after COVID-19, the project is working to discover and expand the use of culture vouchers online (OTT, music, and e-books).
Currently, the culture voucher is issued through 'Culture Nuri Card', which can be used in about 25,000 franchises nationwide. It provides 110,000 Won per person to basic living recipients and the near-poverty groups aged 6 and above.
As for the project promotion system, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism establishes the policy direction and basic plan, and Arts Council Korea oversees the project operation. The local governments and the designated offices for each city and province operate the project with project expenses, Culture Nuri Card issuance, and franchise management.
Website of the policy/measure, if available:
What are the results achieved so far through the implementation of the policy/measure?:
The amount of support for culture voucher increased by 10,000 Won every year, with 60,000 Won in 2017 to 100,000 Won in 2021. The ratio of beneficiaries for basic living recipients and near-poverty groups gradually expanded from 61.2% (1.61 Million) in 2017, to 80% (1.97 Million) in 2021, and to 100% (2.63 Million) in 2022. The project budget also continued to increase, from 69,875 Million Won in 2017 to 140,154 Million Won in 2021.
The result of the survey on the business effect on the culture voucher users illustrated that cultural vouchers led to positive changes in emotional, social and cultural aspects. In terms of emotional aspect, the level of happiness and life energy have increased. As for cultural aspect, the level of interest and participation in cultural leisure activities increased slightly in 2020 compared to 2019. In terms of social aspect, the enjoyment the pleasure of interacting with others increase while and the burden of interaction showed a slight decrease 2021 compared to 2020.
Financial resources allocated to the policy/measure in USD:
140,154 Million Won, 106.68 Million Dollars /As of 2021
Partner(s) engaged in the implementation of the measure:
Has the implementation of the policy/measure been evaluated?:
YES
If yes, what are the main conclusions/recommendations?:
Cultural activities of the financially underprivileged have increased through the culture voucher project, which eased the cultural enjoyment gap based on incomes. As culture voucher recipients and budgets continue to expand, it is necessary to explore ways to provide targeted-use support for each individual to increase the use of voucher in the future.