Unlock Your Culture: Gyeonggi Province Distributes 100,000 Discount Coupons via New Culture Pass App

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On the 20th, Gyeonggi Province distributed 100,000 cultural consumption discount coupons to broaden residents’ everyday access to cultural offerings. The coupons were issued through the newly revamped Gyeonggi Culture Pass app. Launched last September, the Culture Pass provides discount coupons of up to 60,000 KRW (approximately $45) for a wide range of activities, including films, performances, exhibitions, sports, lodging, recreational activities, and books. The program’s aim is to enable everyone to incorporate culture into daily life and maintain healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Earlier, on March 18, Gyeonggi announced its Cultural and Sports Policy Vision for a People-Centered Economy. Central to that plan is a pledge to increase the number of Culture Pass coupons from 200,000 to 1,000,000 by 2030 — a fivefold expansion. The expanded Culture Pass app and additional coupon issuance are part of this strategy. The upgraded app moves beyond simple discounts, shifting toward participatory features that encourage residents to visit and experience local cultural sites. Using location-based tools, residents can now view information on roughly 9,300 nearby cultural, sports, and tourism facilities at once, making it easier to enjoy culture within their daily living areas and reap concrete benefits. Expectations are high that opportunities for cultural participation will expand significantly.

Economic circumstances are a major reason why interest in arts and culture varies among people. The Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation’s January 2023 survey of residents’ cultural participation underscores this point: when given more time and money, people prioritized travel, attending cultural events, and participating in arts activities as the leisure pursuits they most wanted to increase. In that context, the Culture Pass app is likely to help residents engage more actively in cultural and artistic life.

Arts and culture elevate a city’s standing and enhance citizens’ quality of life. For that reason, cultural budgets should be viewed as investments rather than costs. Yet local policies remain thin, and working-class residents still face limited access to cultural opportunities. Given that the enjoyment of culture and the freedom to create are basic rights — not optional privileges — this situation is regrettable. Gyeonggi’s policy to expand cultural access could help alleviate these structural inequities, at least to some degree.