President Lee vows efforts to develop Korea culturally

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak said Monday the government
will work to promote the country's traditional culture in the international
community and offer cultural experiences throughout the nation, noting a truly
advanced country is one in which people can enjoy benefits of both economic and
cultural developments.

"The advanced and first-class nation I dream of is not one that merely has high
income, but a cultural nation that has a high level of culture well balanced with
its economic development," the president said in his biweekly radio address that
began one year ago.
Lee said the country's traditional culture, along with its recent cultural
enhancements, make it one of the well developed nations in the world, but that
the problem was not everyone had easy access to cultural experiences, especially
in rural areas.
"I plan to significantly expand our people's right to enjoy culture. I will
significantly reduce the imbalance of access to cultural events between different
regions and classes of people," he said.
"The 21st century is an era where culture means money and money means culture.
Culture makes up what people eat and it can be said to be an industry of its own
that also creates jobs," Lee added.
The president also called for efforts to promote the country's traditional
culture in the international community, saying it is the fastest way to let the
world realize how advanced the country is.
"We are now beginning to realize that our traditional culture and food are
something we can boast of in front of the world. We must let the world people
know that Korea not only developed quickly economically, but that its culture is
also very advanced," Lee said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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