January 2017

South Korean Minister of Culture Resigns Amid Blacklist Scandal Korean official Cho Yoon Sun resigned last week, shortly after being arrested for allegedly compiling a blacklist of nearly 10,000 artists critical of former President Park Geun-Hye. Also arrested was Kim Ki-Choon, a former chief staffer for Park’s father, president Park Chung-hee. The scandal erupts amidst a series of arrests of high-ranking officials and President Park Geun-Hye’s impeachment last December.

Public Arts in the Trump Era Just ahead of the inauguration of President Trump, reports circulated about his administration’s intent to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in his budget. The reports have lead to a flurry of responses, with many critics noting that both offices make up a minuscule percentage of the annual budget and that they fund a diverse set of vital programs. Performance artist Karen Finley observed that Trump’s financial and cultural successes are owed to America’s history of arts and culture. This not the first time the National Endowment for the Arts has come under scrutiny, with detractors alleging that it funds obscene or inappropriate art or that it is an unwieldily and ineffective bureaucracy.