The Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (ARTE), now in its 20th year, is facing a critical structural crisis. From a system dynamics perspective, this study analyzes ARTE’s official documents and media reports to identify three mutually reinforci...
The Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (ARTE), now in its 20th year, is facing a critical structural crisis. From a system dynamics perspective, this study analyzes ARTE’s official documents and media reports to identify three mutually reinforcing problems: an overreliance on short-term direct execution projects. the absence of an institutionalized knowledge-accumulation system, and the growing administrative burden of employing arts instructors. These issues stem not from operational inefficiencies alone but from a deeper confusion regarding ARTE’s institutional identity and role.
A comparative review of Arts Council England, the Finnish National Agency for Education, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan demonstrates that successful arts and culture education systems are grounded in a clear definition of the central organization as an intermediary—rather than as a direct provider. Based on these insights, this study proposes a “reverse-cycle” model that redesigns ARTE as a platform-based intermediary organization. Specifically, the model outlines a transition toward platform governance, the establishment of an open R&E system, the separation of employment responsibility for arts instructors, and the integration of funding and evaluation mechanisms. Together, these four pillars create a pathway for transforming ARTE’s current vicious cycle into a virtuous one.
This model offers a realistic alternative that realigns ARTE with its legally mandated mission while enabling the sustainable development of Korea’s arts and culture education ecosystem.