A total of 97 businesses and 97 artists on Wednesday joined hands to nurture arts as part of the Korean Mecenat program at the Seoul Namsan Traditional Theater on Wednesday.
According to the Korean Business Council for the Arts, the companies, including 24 new council members, will provide 4.4 billion won ($3.9 million) to artists ranging from Korean traditional music groups to actors and dancers. They will participate in the “Arts & Business” program for one year, exchanging ideas and contributing to marketing, managerial and corporate social responsibility programs.
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Park Yong-hyun (fifth from left, front row), head of the Korean Business Council for the Arts and chairman of the board of Yonkang Foundation, and members join hands at the “Arts & Business” event in Seoul on Wednesday.(Korean Business Council for the Arts) |
Among the 97 sponsors, 24 are large corporations including Doosan Infracore, Hanwha Life, and LG Chemical sponsoring Globe Theater, Mostly Philharmonic Orchestra and Cheongchun Story, respectively.
Some longstanding members such as Byuksan Power, Seun Steel, BIP Industries and others will also continue their support of Sejong Soloists, the Busan Orchestra of Gayageum, and the Busan Symphony Orchestra.
“The marriage of artists and business groups creates synergy as it can be a great marketing tool, offering creative managerial opportunities as well as contributing to the development of art. The artists, on the other hand, can focus on their work in a more comfortable environment,” the organization said.
By Bae Ji-sook (
baejisook@heraldcorp.com)