'Gyeonggi Province Culture Day' - Museums, Art Museums, Public Performance Venues, and Camping Grounds Offer Partial Local Currency Refunds on Usage Fees

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon] Gyeonggi Province will begin its '2021 Culture Day, Local Currency Dream' project on the 29th, offering partial local currency refunds on usage fees for 28 cultural facilities including museums, performance venues, and other facilities in the province.

Visitors can receive refunds in local currency for a portion of usage fees when using these facilities during the week containing the last Wednesday of each month, and during the weeks containing Children's Day and Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving).

Refunds are 5,000 won for usage fees of 10,000 won or more, 10,000 won for 30,000 won or more, and 15,000 won for 50,000 won or more.

When one person pays for multiple people's costs, the refund is calculated on the total amount. Refunded local currency must be used within three months. Since the local currency is charged in the local currency of the city or county where the cultural facility is located, the project is also expected to revitalize local alley commerce in the relevant regions.

The province has improved the local currency refund system by allowing refunds to be credited to existing cards, not only for newly issued card formats.

For example, last year, even if users were already using a Suwon Pay card, they had to obtain a new Suwon Pay card to receive refunds. Starting this year, refunds are charged to the existing card being used.

Additionally, the province increased refund amounts by switching from fixed-rate refunds (20%) to fixed-amount refunds based on usage fee brackets. The province also added public camping grounds to participating facilities to reflect residents' changing leisure and cultural preferences.

Information on participating museums, art museums, public performance venues, and public camping grounds in the province can be found on the Gyeonggi Culture Foundation website (https://www.ggcf.kr/archives/136887).

From March 29 to April 7, the province plans to recruit additional participating facilities through a second round of public recruitment. Applicants should refer to the announcement on the Gyeonggi Culture Foundation website (https://www.ggcf.kr/archives/136876) and submit applications through the relevant municipal or county government.

Kim Jong-seok, director of Gyeonggi Province's Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau, stated, "We hope that residents of Gyeonggi Province, fatigued by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, will increase their happiness index by engaging with cultural arts." He added, "We encourage greater interest and participation in Gyeonggi Province Culture Day and the Local Currency Dream project, which can revitalize both cultural enjoyment and local alley commerce."

Meanwhile, the province is also promoting the 'Gyeonggi Province Culture Day' cultural and arts program support project to activate 'Gyeonggi Province Culture Day' and address the gap in cultural access across the province.

As a result of the first round of recruitment, 57 cultural and arts programs from 23 cities and counties, including the 'Four People, Four Colors, Healing Humanities' program in Suwon, were selected. The second round of recruitment is being conducted from March 26 to April 16.