The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of South Korea is a central government agency responsible in areas of tourism, culture, art, religion, and sports. It has one assistant minister, two main offices, six bureaus, one commission, six offices, 26 divisions, 6 teams, and 9 subordinate organizations. Total staff numbers approximately 1,900 people.

The current Minister of Culture and Tourism is Kim Myung-gon. The vice Minister of Culture and tourism is Yoo Jin-ryong.

The three goals of MCT is:

• To educate Korean people to be cultural and creative citizens.
• To create a leisurely and unique society in which leisure and work are in harmony
• To create a dynamic cultural nation that represents various local cultures

History

Ministry of Culture and Tourism was originally a suborgnanization of Ministry of Education created in 1948. Later, the Ministry of Tourism set up a tourism department. Ministry of Information was set up in 1961 for administration of art and cultural affairs. Shortly after, the Ministry of Culture and Information cultural property and management of the museums. Later, the Ministry of Culture and Information became the Ministry of Culture in 1990.

In 1993, Ministry of Culture was integrated with Ministry of Youth and Sports to become the Ministry of Culture and Sports. In 1998 as part of government downsizing efforts, Ministry of Culture and Sports was replaced by Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Downsizing is a euphemism referring to layoffs initiated by a company in order to cut labor costs by reducing the size of the company. ...

External links

• South Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism official website