Bucheon Cultural Center President Kwon Soon-ho received the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation as a person of merit for cultural development on the occasion of the "2026 Local Cultural Centers Day," held on October 9 at the Yanggang Island area in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, during the "2026 Regional Culture Expo in Yangpyeong."

Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korean Cultural Centers Association, the commendation was established to honor individuals who have contributed to the development of local cultural centers and the promotion of regional culture. The evaluation was conducted based on comprehensive criteria, including the degree of contribution, difficulty of achieving milestones, reputation and support from regional cultural stakeholders, and public and media recognition. President Kwon was recognized for taking the lead in regional cultural promotion and contributing to the development of national culture.

The Bucheon Cultural Center has established a cultural governance centered around the "Bucheon 200,000 Culture Belt" and has pursued various projects utilizing regional history and everyday cultural resources. By discovering and sharing regional cultural resources with citizens through historical and cultural academic conferences, archive activation projects such as cultural exploration teams and local history guide taxis, AI-utilized content production, and local food restoration projects, the center won the Presidential Award in the general competition category in 2024.

On October 10, the day following his award, President Kwon presented the best practices of the Bucheon Cultural Center at a lecture on regional cultural development held for 232 cultural center directors nationwide. Introducing his experiences in driving major projects and new regional cultural contents, he shared the future direction and vision that local cultural centers should pursue. In particular, through cases combining resident participation and new technologies with region-unique cultural assets, he presented practical directions for each cultural center to develop contents tailored to regional characteristics.

President Kwon Soon-ho stated, "I am delighted that the efforts I have made for regional cultural development and citizens' voluntary cultural enjoyment during my tenure as director have contributed to regional cultural promotion." He added, "I believe this good result came from the support and encouragement of the executives and staff of the Bucheon Cultural Center and the members of the 200,000 Culture Belt cooperation, and I want to share the joy of this award and express my gratitude to everyone who joined together."

Meanwhile, the "2026 Regional Culture Expo in Yangpyeong" was held for three days from October 9 to 11. At the event venue, local cultural center PR booths and family-targeted experience programs were operated, providing visitors with opportunities to experience and engage with the cultures of various regions.

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