The Present Situation Of The South Korean Enterprise Culture And Arts Sponsorship (mecenat) Research

Since the19th century when protection and patronage of art were defined as the concept of mecenat, corporations and art have developed intimate relations. The number of mecenat organizations, which link sponsoring corporations to art groups or institutions in need of financial support, is globally proliferating with economic development. Especially in the21st century,’the age of culture’, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is reinforced; moreover, mecenat activities are valued to be one of the important social responsibilities.Big major Korean corporations started mecenat activities in the1960s. The economic growth in the1980s allowed more corporations to participate in mecenat activities to enhance their images. The South Korean government also began to actively support mecenat activities and founded Korea Mecenat Association in1994. South Korea’s early mecenat activities in Asia will be vital information for a study on an ideal mecenat activities development plan.By investigating the development process and the current state of South Korean corporations’ mecenat activities with focus on sponsorship in the visual arts based on the Western mecenat activities analysis, this thesis will analyze characteristics and problems of South Korea’s mecenat activities to propose the development plan and provide the ideal reference model of mecenat activities in Asia.