Seoul Advised to Become Culture-Friendly
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Prominent economists and scholars said Friday that a culture-friendly environment would serve as a driving force in improving the quality of lives of Koreans as well as revitalizing the economy of the country.
A total of 15 renowned scholars from nine countries are participating in the second International Conference of the Global Metropolitan Forum of Seoul at the Shilla Hotel.
They delivered speeches under the theme of ``Happiness, Competitiveness, and Culturenomics of Global Metropolises'' at the two-day annual event sponsored by Seoul Welfare Foundation.
David Throsby, a professor at Macquarie University in Sydney, said that culture is highly implicated in the process of urban development.
``Specific cultural facilities may comprise on their own a significant cultural symbol or attraction affecting the urban economy. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, the leaning tower of Pisa, or the Sydney Opera House, are good examples,'' he said.
``Cultural districts may act as a node for development in a local areas where artistic or cultural activities are concentrated, providing an attraction to both residents and tourists,'' the professor said.
He also said culture has a more pervasive role in urban development through the fostering of community identity, creativity, cohesion and vitality, via the cultural characteristics and practices that define the city and its inhabitants.
Jung Moon-gun, the Seoul City's chief policy researcher, also underlined the importance of culture in local development.
Noting that a powerstation-turned-museum in London attracted more than 4.6 million travelers in 2002 alone, the researcher said, ``New York City generates around $21.2 billion of revenue annually through cultural businesses including film, performance, music and exhibition.''
This event was organized as part of efforts to find a new growth engine for Seoul.
``It was proved that culture industry generates massive economic return as we can see in Paris, Milan and New York. We organized this event to seek a way to make Seoul a culturally internationalized city,'' said Jung Yang-kyun, press relations officer at the Seoul City government.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has repeatedly stressed the importance of culture in economic growth.
``Culturenomics is a key strategy of Seoul government,'' Oh said. ``It will serve as a driving force in raising the quality of life of Seoul citizens and revitalizing the economy of Seoul.''
Guy Sorma, a professor of political science at the University of Paris who is participating in the forum, called on the Seoul government to build an artist-only residential district in downtown Seoul and introduce advantageous measures for foreign artists such as scholarships and tax cuts.
``Seoul holds a variety of advantages to become a culture friendly city,'' he said Thursday. ``There is an obstacle on the path toward the culturally developed capital. That is a lack of sense of internationalization,'' he said.
Noting that international competitiveness comes from an internationalized city enabling local residents to come into contact with foreign talent easily, he said, ``Such a social context helps to come up with creative ideas for economic growth.''