On September 14th of last year, then-Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon rode his bicycle to work at the personnel hearing preparation office for the first time. Minister Yoo, who improved his physical strength by riding a bicycle, diligently visited the site and inspected it about 190 times in the six months since he took office. The young employees of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism asked him, “Is it harder to be an actor or a minister?”
On the 24th, Minister Yoo thought for a moment and answered questions from young employees of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism at the Park Yeon Cultural Center in Sejong.
“On the outside, being a minister is much more difficult. However, the hardships of not being selected as an actor cannot be compared to being a minister. If a person is not selected, that person will disappear. “There is no comparison.”
This is in line with the recent complaints by many actors that they are having a hard time due to lack of work, and it is an answer that shows that each job has its own difficulties.
The event, which was held under the title ‘Culture What Chat’, was designed to mark Minister Yoo’s sixth month in office by meeting with young interns and employees in their 20s and 30s to honestly share their concerns, experiences, and policy ideas. Young employees asked a variety of questions.
When asked about the qualities that must be developed as a culture and arts administrator, Minister Yoo said, “It is an eye to read the times and what role art will play.” He added, “A planner must have much more humanities knowledge and social experience than a creator to make a good judgment. “You have to travel a lot and see a lot of works and performances to open your eyes,” he advised.
Also, when asked, ‘If you were a young person, do you think you would apply to become a member of the national youth education group?’, he answered, “Of course I would apply.” In fact, there was a time when I knocked on the door of the National Theater Company because I wanted to join it. “If I were to be a young person just starting out, I would be grateful if they gave me just 1 million won,” he said.
Minister Yoo said about his thoughts on 190 field trips over 6 months, “As a field activist, I met a lot of people and listened to their stories constantly,” and “Just listening to their stories (from the field) is meaningful. The voices in the arts field are very different from those when making policies at a desk. “Even though you live in Sejong City, you have no choice but to go back and forth and endure hardships,” he said.
He said, “Now is the time to realistically reveal the policies in each field created over the past 6 months, produce results, and see the results.” He added, “The 21st century is the era of culture, but when the government budget is decided, the (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) budget is cut, but it continues.” “So we have to raise our voices,” he emphasized.
