Being a fan can have difficulties depending on where you live. Fans, who live far from Seoul or the capital area, have to spend more to have the same experience. It is because most of the performances or events are held there. “Channel PNU” spotlighted the cultural life gap between the greater Seoul area and outside of it, especially with the experience of “local fans” in Busan.

“Local fans” often need to travel to Seoul to attend their favorite artists’ concerts. This is because concerts are usually held in Seoul. Student A (Dept. of Japanese Language and Literature, 23) said, “When I go to Seoul to attend a concert, it often entails significant expenses for transportation and accommodation, which would not be necessary if I lived in Seoul.”

According to the “2022 Survey on the Performing Art,” released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, out of a total of 968 performance venues nationwide, 319 are located in Seoul. In the capital area, there are 481 venues, while Busan has only 55. This numerical gap is flagrant, even allowing for the regional population. Substantial disparity in cultural infrastructure like this makes local fans go up to Seoul and accelerates the extinction of Busan.

■We Travel for Cultural Life

For local fans, enjoying cultural experiences begins with addressing transportation challenges. To attend performances in Seoul using public transportation, it is essential to transfer between buses, trains, and subways multiple times. Another problem arises when finding a suitable vehicle to go home after the performance. Most concerts start in the afternoon and end late at night, making it difficult for local fans to find transportation options. As a result, regional fans often find themselves missing the last available transportation and have to stay overnight in Seoul.

In this situation, the financial burden on regional fans increases significantly. For instance, the round-trip cost of express buses or trains between Busan and Seoul exceeds 100,000 won. When accommodation fees are added, the total cost often surpasses the ticket price for the performance itself. Student A said, “In addition to the transportation cost, I have to pay more for accommodation because it is challenging to leave right after the end of the concert. The charge for accommodation is normally from 50,000 won to 100,000 won, which adds up to double the ticket price for a single outing.”

The time consumption is also a great pressure on fans in the local area. Departing from Busan Station, it takes 3 to 4 hours to reach popular concert venues in Seoul, such as Olympic Hall, KSPO Dome, and Gocheok Sky Dome. For a round trip in a day, fans must spend one-third of a day on transportation. This long time can be reduced to less than half for Seoul residents. Student B (Dept. of Media and Communication, 23) said, “I have to wake up early in the morning to align with the travel time to the concert venue, which is time-consuming and pressuring.”

To enjoy cultural experiences, fans from local areas must consider various burdens such as transportation, time, and cost. After a trip to a concert in Seoul by a Japanese artist, student C (Dept. of Sociology, 22) said, “For fans who do not live in Seoul, the conditions in terms of time and cost must align well for attending a concert. I wish my favorite artist could come to Busan, but the reality is often different due to the distance to Seoul and disparities in performance infrastructures.”

■The Concerns Originated From the Gap Between Capital and Non-capital Area

The concerns of local fans extend beyond personal issues. They are ultimately rooted in the disparities between the capital and non-capital areas. According to the survey, out of 968 performance venues nationwide, 319 are in Seoul. In the capital area, there are 481 venues, while Busan has only 55. The number of performing organizations in Busan is also significantly lower than in the capital area. Of 4,261 teams nationwide, Seoul has 1,826 (42.9%), and Busan has 250 (5.9%). Even when considering the regional population ratio, the gap in performance opportunities is substantial.

In Busan, there are six large-scale performance facilities (with a capacity of over 1,000 seats and less than 10,000 seats): Sohyang Theatre Shinhan Card Hall, Main Theater of the Busan Cultural Center, Main Theater of the Busan Citizen’s Hall, Dream Theatre, KBS Hall, Bexco Auditorium. However, when it comes to venues capable of holding over 10,000 viewers, there are only two options: Sajik Gymnasium and Asiad Main Stadium. Neither of the alternatives is specialized for performances. Thus, they are used for large-scale events like concerts through temporary modifications of the stadium interiors. Due to this limited infrastructure, attracting large-scale performances to Busan is challenging.

Busan also lags significantly behind Seoul in the accessibility of cultural performance facilities. According to the “2021 National Territorial Monitoring Report” by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the average accessibility distances in kilometers to cultural performance facilities in the top seven regions are as follows: Seoul 2.02, Jeju Island 3.61, Daejeon 4.65, Busan 4.86, Daegu 5.56, Gwangju 5.76, and Ulsan 7.17. Busan is ranked fourth among all local governments, but there is a big difference from Seoul, which is not enough to attract people as a “cultural city.”

Indeed, research indicates that geographical accessibility to Seoul influences cultural engagement. The paper “Differences in Cultural Engagement According to Income Level and the Level of Cultural Infrastructure Facilities,” which won an award in the 19th Statistics Korea Contest in 2021, analyzed regional statistics and found that the level of cultural infrastructure facilities in a region affects the level of cultural engagement. Consequently, it was observed that as one moves farther away from Seoul, where cultural infrastructure is more densely concentrated, the level of cultural engagement tends to be lower.

■Culture as a Solution to Alleviate Regional Decline

Experts emphasize the need for cultural decentralization when discussing regional extinction. They say that the concentration of culture in the capital area significantly impacts regional population outflows. Kim Kyung-Woo (Prof. of School of Public Policy and Management, PNU) said, “The conditions for cultural life play a vital role in residents' decisions regarding where to live. For the young, not only job opportunities but also the level of cultural engagement are factors that attract them to the capital region.” He added, “To promote cultural decentralization, it is necessary to secure cultural facilities and increase the frequency of high-quality performances, creating a virtuous cycle.”

Forming this “virtuous cycle” requires the active participation and collaboration of the government, local authorities, and citizens, each playing their respective roles. First of all, local authorities hold a crucial position as they can assess the cultural demands of their communities. Prof. Kim said, “The local authorities, including Busan, are already establishing cultural facilities. With building facilities, authorities must identify the cultural conditions that residents, especially youths, desire and provide performances that meet those demands.”

However, they can smoothly operate the facilities only when they receive financial support from the government. Prof. Kim said, “Special Accounts Funds on Balanced National Development, which supports local finance, should increase the budget allocated for cultural development.” He added, “Local residents have to seek and enjoy cultural opportunities. Also, expressing preferences for cultural performances can be a good way to make authorities and organizations concern them when planning events.”

Reporter Yoon Seo-Young

Translated by Lee Soo-Hyun