South Korean culture minister proposes launching Culture Olympics

SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's culture minister said Tuesday he has proposed creating a Culture Olympics when he held a meeting with the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"I proposed adding a Culture Olympics to the Olympic Games and the Paralympics to IOC president Thomas Bach, whom I met during the Beijing Winter Olympics and received a positive answer," Hwang Hee, minister of culture, sports and tourism, said in a press conference Monday to mark his first anniversary in office.

"I will visit the IOC in March, if necessary, to deliver a briefing," he said.

He recently returned from a trip to Beijing, leading the South Korean government delegation to the Winter Games.

During the meeting with Bach, Hwang said he cited the need to make the Olympic Games a bigger event that covers not just sports but also culture "since it is a field that can best represent the Olympic spirit of minimizing cultural differences and bringing about peace and harmony."

He also told Bach that creating a Culture Olympics will help grow the IOC's influence in the United Nations.

Bach responded positively, calling it "a good idea," but asked how well the envisioned cultural meeting will go with the current Olympic Games, which is a competitive event with a ranking system, according to Hwang.

He added Cultural Olympics can have both competitive and noncompetitive events and that winners of a competition can also be decided based on voting by participants as well as spectators.

sshim@yna.co.kr
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