Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > Japanese Government Policies in Education, Science, Sports and Culture 2000 > Part 1 Chapter 4 Section 5 1

The central government has been responsible for formulating the Republic of Korea's cultural policies in the post-World War II era since 1948. The name of the administrative agency responsible for cultural policies has changed over time, from the Agency of Public Information (1948), to the Ministry of Public Information (1961), to the Ministry of Culture and Public Information (1968), to the Ministry of Culture (1990), to the Ministry of Culture and Physical Exercise (1993), and finally to the newly established Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 1998, when the current president was sworn into office.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is primarily responsible for cultural policies on a national level. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism exercises jurisdiction over art culture, art education, culture-related industries, religion, language, international cultural exchange, copyrights, and cultural heritage, as well as sports, juvenile affairs, tourism, and communications.

The Cultural Properties Administration is an external organ of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The Cultural Properties Administration is responsible for the protection of cultural properties and management, research, excavation, and the renovation of cultural treasures.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has several related administrative ministries. They include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Department, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. These ministries play supplementary roles.

The Local Culture Promotion Act was enacted in 1994, and local governments have already been proactively implementing their own cultural policies, such as establishing cultural facilities to nurture and encourage inherent cultural activities on the local level. Currently, many local governments are considering the introduction of their own culture-related legislation.