Factors Influencing the Performance of Local Cultural Centers: Difference of Recognition between Cultural Center Employees and Government Officials

This study examined local cultural centers as delivery systems for local cultural policies and analyzed the relationship between their performance and its influencing factors. Specifically, the study compared and analyzed the evaluations of government officials and local cultural center employees regarding these factors, aiming to identify ways to enhance the effectiveness of the centers as policy delivery systems. In this analysis, the performance of local cultural centers was set as the independent variable, while the influencing factors included professionalism, linkage, accessibility, appropriateness, and innovative organizational culture. The findings revealed that, compared to center employees, government officials rated these factors significantly lower and assessed the centers’performance less favorably. Furthermore, the interaction effects between the status of being a government official and each dependent variable showed a negative effect only on professionalism, indicating a less favorable perception of the centers’ professionalism among government officials. Based on these findings, this study concludes that prioritizing improvements in professionalism is essential for enhancing the performance of local cultural centers. The study further suggests including the centers in the institutions that recognize the career of curators called 학예사(hakyesa) in Korean. As this study is a preliminary exploration that defines local cultural centers as policy delivery systems, further research is needed to investigate how the influx of curators into these centers may affect their professionalism and performance. Additionally, continued research should explore how the enhancement of these centers’ performance may contribute to the promotion of local culture.