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Foreign residents have low awareness of Culture Day benefits
A Culture Day banner is seen at the gate to Deoksu Palace in Seoul in this undated file photo. Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
By Kim Se-jeong
Policy promotion to noncitizens still lagging
From time to time, Monica, 36, a working mother from Uzbekistan, and her Korean husband take their daughter Miso, 11, to the cinema near their home in Seoul. Miso loves animated films, and the family considers movie outings a small but meaningful moment amid their busy schedules. But, as Monica recently learned, she has been missing out on a benefit designed to make such experiences more affordable.
“We recently watched ‘Zootopia 2’ and paid full price,” Monica told The Korea Times. “If we had known a discount was available on the last Wednesday of the month, we definitely would have planned around it.”
The discount Monica was referring to is part of Culture Day, a government initiative designed to make cultural activities more accessible. Introduced in 2014, Culture Day offers reduced or free admission to a wide range of cultural venues such as movie theaters, public museums, galleries, concert halls and sports events on the last Wednesday of every month. In a 2024 survey by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, six out of 10 Koreans were aware of the program and 66.3 percent had used the benefit that year, a sign that Culture Day has become one of the country’s flagship cultural policies.
Backed by high participation, the ministry announced plans earlier this month to expand Culture Day from a monthly event to a weekly program, with discounts available every Wednesday starting in April. The ministry is currently undertaking the necessary legal procedures to implement the change.
“If discounts are available every Wednesday, we’ll be able to watch movies more often with my daughter,” Monica said. “And my Uzbek friends will be happy to learn about Culture Day, too.”
While the policy has been around for more than a decade, awareness of the policy appears far more limited among Korea’s growing population of foreign residents, which now exceeds 2.5 million, despite the policy also applying to foreign nationals.
Agrim Bhalla, an international student from India, said he had never heard of Culture Day during his three and a half years in Korea. After learning about it during this interview with The Korea Times, he expressed interest in using the discounts as a way to experience more of Korea’s culture.
Ariel Schudson, an American resident who has lived in Seoul for six years, said she is aware of the program, but many people around her are not.
“I actually told one of my close friends about it just the other day,” she said. “I don’t think it’s very well advertised, especially in places people check regularly — online media, Instagram, things like that.”
Moviegoers look at posters at the CGV cinema in Yongsan IPark Mall in central Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
The Regional Culture & Development Agency (RCDA), which oversees implementation of the Culture Day program, notes the discounts are open to all, including foreign residents.
“We don’t distinguish between Korean and non-Korean citizens when it comes to enjoying cultural activities,” Jung Kwang-ryul, director of RCDA, told The Korea Times. “Anyone in Korea can benefit from Culture Day.”
Yoon So-young, a researcher at the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, added, “As long as they reside in Korea, there are no additional barriers to benefiting from Culture Day.”
However, experts point to ongoing accessibility issues.
Choi Hye-ja, a professor at Sungkonghoe University, recalled how public notices during the COVID-19 pandemic were often provided only in Korean, leaving many foreign residents in the dark for nearly two years.
“It’s the same issue — accessibility. At a minimum, basic information should be available in English, Chinese, Japanese and other widely spoken languages,” Choi said.
With the program set to expand from once a month to every week, experts expect awareness to grow over time, reaching more international residents as well.
“Once discounts and other benefits become available weekly, I think awareness will naturally increase, including among foreign residents,” said Kang Won-jae, director of the Nowon Foundation for Arts and Culture.
Jung also vowed that the RCDA will step up efforts to raise awareness of the program among foreign residents.
Choi also views the weekly expansion as a chance to foster deeper cultural exchanges, calling for the Culture Day program to reflect Korea’s increasingly diverse population not just in its messaging, but also in its content.
“If Korea truly aims to be a cultural powerhouse as a middle power, we also need more chances to encounter other cultures — for example Indonesian, Indian or Vietnamese,” she said.
“If all we do is focus on selling Korean content to other countries, when do we ever get to learn about the cultures of people living among us? That’s what would make Culture Day genuinely inclusive, both in spirit and in practice.”
Visitors walk around the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, Dec. 11, 2025. Yonhap
Where to visit on Culture Day
Benefits vary by location and may include free admission, discounted tickets or extended evening hours. Visitors are advised to check individual venues in advance.
Major palaces and royal sites (free admission)
Gyeongbok Palace
Changdeok Palace
Changgyeong Palace
Deoksu Palace
Jongmyo Shrine
Joseon Royal Tombs
Museums and galleries (free admission, extended hours)
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
Performing arts venues (discounted tickets on select performances)
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts
Other
Discounts are available for professional baseball games across all 10 Korea Baseball Organization teams as well as matches organized by the Korea Volleyball Federation.
Reduced rates are available at National Recreation Forests, while discounts are also offered at SEA LIFE COEX in Seoul and Aqua Planet Ilsan in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
Public libraries may allow visitors to borrow additional books on Culture Day.