On the 11th, the Arts Council Korea (ARKO) released a report on the state of arts and culture sponsorship by corporate cultural foundations—nonprofit organizations established by domestic companies to support arts and culture. The report revealed that corporate contributions have tripled over the past decade.

According to ARKO, the number of corporate cultural foundations grew by 38.3%, from 81 in 2014 to 112 in 2023. Over the same period, their total spending on arts and culture surged nearly threefold, from 63.7 billion KRW to 182.4 billion KRW. The average annual expenditure per foundation more than doubled, increasing from 790 million KRW in 2014 to 1.63 billion KRW in 2023.

Beyond overall quantitative growth, ARKO highlighted numerous cases of corporate cultural foundations that contribute to the advancement of arts and culture through transparency and expertise.

Among them, CJ Cultural Foundation was identified as the most significant contributor. Other major corporate foundations with high levels of contribution include Daelim Cultural Foundation, Samsung Foundation of Culture, Paradise Cultural Foundation, and Hansol Cultural Foundation. Among mid-sized and smaller enterprises, Smilegate Hope Studio, Woojin Education & Culture Foundation, United Foundation, and Junglim Foundation demonstrated relatively high contributions.

To raise public awareness of corporate cultural foundations, ARKO conducted its first-ever systematic analysis of these organizations in 2024. This study combined quantitative analysis based on expenditure data with qualitative evaluations by six experts, leading to the aforementioned findings.

Despite the quantitative and qualitative growth of corporate cultural foundations, overall interest from the business sector remains limited. As of 2024, only 32 out of the 88 large corporate groups subject to public disclosure requirements had established cultural foundations, falling short of half.

While long-established conglomerates and culturally engaged mid-sized and smaller enterprises have played a leading role, newer entrants into the large corporate group category have shown relatively low participation in foundation establishment and management.

ARKO Chai Person Choung Byoung Gug stated, “While direct corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the arts are important, the public-interest activities of corporate cultural foundations have an even greater ripple effect in advancing arts and culture. ARKO will work to promote the contributions of these foundations to society and the arts and support the creation of more corporate cultural foundations within the business community.”

References

• 한국문화예술위원회 보도자료 (Arts Council Korea Press Release)

Ji Yeon Lee has been working as an editor for the media art and culture channel AliceOn since 2021 and worked as an exhibition coordinator at samuso (now Space for Contemporary Art) from 2021 to 2023.