Park Yang-woo, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) of the Republic of Korea, participated in the 9^th Meeting of the ASEAN Plus Three Ministers Responsible for Culture and Arts (AMCA Plus Three) and the 4^th Meeting of the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Ministers Responsible for Culture and Arts (AMCA Plus ROK) held online on 22 (Thu) October. The meetings were chaired by H.E. Phoeurng Sackona, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia, and the delegations of 13 countries, including Zhang Xu, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism of China, and Hagiuda Koichi, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, gathered to discuss ‘Impact of COVID-19 and Way Forward for the Culture and Arts Sector’.

The AMCA Plus Three and AMCA Plus ROK Meetings, held biennially to advance the cultural collaboration amongst the ASEAN and Plus Three countries, were originally scheduled to be held at Phnom Penh, Cambodia this year, but were moved to a virtual platform due to COVID-19.

In October 2019, Korea invited 10 Ministers of Culture of ASEAN to the Asia Culture Center (ACC) in Gwangju for the Special AMCA Plus ROK Meeting. The Ministers agreed to expand the Asia Culture Week, and to develop the ACC into a cultural hub of ASEAN-ROK cultural exchange. Furthermore, the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit held in November 2019 led to an agreement to establish the ASEAN-ROK Film Organization.

Minister Park presented the main accomplishments of cooperative projects announced at the 2019 Special AMCA Plus ROK Meeting over the past year. He also made formal proposals to ASEAN on the establishment of the ASEAN-ROK Visual Arts Organization and the ASEAN-Korea Cultural Heritage Cooperation Organization for exchange and cooperation between ASEAN and Korea in the fields of visual arts, and the preservation and utilization of cultural heritage.

The ASEAN Ministers appreciated the efforts of Korea towards implementation of the Special Meeting last year and the subsequent cooperative projects, and agreed to further discuss the proposals on ASEAN-ROK cooperative organizations in the fields of visual arts and cultural heritage.

The ‘2020 ASEAN-ROK Culture Innovation Summit’ was held from 21 to 22 October at the ACC as an output of the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit. During the 2-day Summit, cultural experts and artists of ASEAN and Korea sought solutions to promote cultural exchange, innovation, and joint creation and production. In this regard, Minister Park requested ASEAN’s participation from next year onwards for the Summit to lead innovation in the fields of culture and arts, and to build an ASEAN-ROK cultural community through joint creation and production.

The ASEAN Ministers agreed to further discuss the development of the ASEAN-ROK Culture Innovation Summit into an event that leads the global culture and arts sector.

In addition, Minister Park introduced the Asia Culture Week run by the ACC which enables people in Korea the opportunity to experience the diverse cultures of Asia despite the current travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, and asked for support from the delegates of ASEAN, China and Japan. The Asia Culture Week showcases around 20 performances, exhibitions and participatory events under the theme of ‘One Asia’ from 17 to 29 October. Please refer to the Asia Culture Center website (www.acc.go.kr) for more details.

Furthermore, the Meeting discussed the implementation of ‘ASEAN+3 Forum on Museums for Equality’, a new cooperative project proposed by Thailand, as well as participation in the ‘Culture City of East Asia (ASEAN, China, Japan and Korea) Summit’ which will be convened on 21 December in Kitakyushu, Japan. The complete agenda of the meeting can be viewed in the Joint Media Statement uploaded on the ASEAN website (www.asean.org).