A Study on the Development Strategy of the Young Theater Festival (YTF)-Focusing on SWOT/AHP analysis -

This paper investigates the development strategy of the "Young Theater Festival (YTF)," which celebrates its 32nd edition this year as the longest-running university theater festival in South Korea.YTF, being the most historic university theater festival in the country, has upheld its traditionality, sought differentiation from established theater through challenges and experiments, fostered a sense of community in theater arts through exchanges, held symbolically around Daehangno, the mecca of small theater plays, and emphasized educational value to complement university education.However, ① the theater festival's inherent value is diminishing due to inadequate operating systems and budgets compared to the rapid growth in its scale, ② the frequent emergence of similar theater festivals, ③ insufficient festival research relative to its history. While YTF participants have voiced concerns about the festival's direction, practical research, and strategy implementation have been lacking. Particularly, the COVID-19 pandemic, which raised concerns about the existence of the theater festival, has further dampened its development. Therefore, this paper conducted a survey among experts to study the development strategy of YTF that demands change and innovation. The SWOT/AHP technique was applied to intermediate results to select the importance priority for each factor, and the development strategy of YTF was established by comprehensively analyzing all results.As a result, the development strategy of YTF was derived as WO Strategy → WT Strategy → ST Strategy → SO Strategy. In summary, the fundamental direction of the development strategy should focus on expanding the YTF's outreach. This entails seeking collaboration models with local governments and cultural and artistic institutions and developing various programs to gradually expand the audience for the festival from existing university students to teenagers, graduates, and citizens. It is essential to move away from the structure of unilaterally receiving subsidies from cultural and artistic institutions and engage in exchange and cooperation with various cultural and artistic organizations such as local governments to create and operate joint projects. These efforts will lay the groundwork for attracting private enterprise investment in the future. Now, after thirty-one years, it is time for YTF to transcend the confines of university boundaries and evolve into a theater festival for everyone to enjoy together.