본 연구는 2015년 개관을 앞두고 있는 광주광역시 소재 국립아시아문화전당이 창조경제와 지역문화의 융성을 견인하는 발전소로서 어떤 기능을 할 수 있는지 그리고 그 발전소의 핵심 엔진인 5 개원 (민주평화교류원, 아시아문화정보원, 문화창조원, 아시아예술극장, 어린이문화원)은 어떤 콘텐츠로 창의적인 문화산업의 발전을 유도할 수 있는 지를 연구·분석한 것이다. 연구방법은 문헌자료, 특히 창조경제와 문화융성 관련 보고서와 문화체육관광부의 보도자료, 콘퍼런스자료집을 토대로 분석하였으며, 이를 바탕으로 창조경제와 지역문화 융성의 관계 등을 2015년 개관을 앞두고 있는 국립아시아문화전당에 적용하여 국립아시아문화전당이 창조경제와 지역문화융성의 발전소임을 보여주고자 했다. 연구 결과 창조경제와 지역문화융성의 발전소인 국립아시아문화전당의 5 개원, 즉 민주평화교류원, 아시아문화정보원, 문화창조원, 아시아예술극장, 어린이문화원은 ‘상상력 기반의 콘텐츠산업 육성’의 핵심 엔진으로 기능할 수 있음을 알 수 있었다. 특히 5개원 각각은 창의성을 바탕으로 ‘5월’의 역사적 경험을 공유하는 ‘감성적 공감의 경로 만들기’의 서사콘텐츠의 산업화(민주평화교류원)와 ‘아시아문화원형의 창의적 활용을 위한 원천소스의 산업화’(아시아문화정보원), ‘미래형문화예술콘텐츠의 산업화’(문화창조원), ‘K-PERFORMANCE 콘텐츠의 산업화’(아시아예술극장), 어린이 문화예술교육 콘텐츠의 산업화(어린이문화원)를 만들어내는 핵심 엔진의 역할을 수행할 수 있음을 알 수 있었다. 이러한 연구결과는 창조적인 상상력과 아이디어를 바탕으로 하는 창조경제와 문화융성(특히 지역문화 융성)에 있어서 국립아시아문화전당이 문화예술을 통한 창조경제 이끌기의 핵심적인 축으로 자리 잡을 수 있음을 시사하고 있다.
Prior to the opening of the Asian Culture Complex (hereinafter referred as ACC) in 2015, this study analyzes how ACC can function as a power-plant for Creative Economy and local culture prosperity, and how its related five agencies (Democracy- Peace Exchange Agency, Asian Culture Information Agency, Culture Promotion Agency, Asian Arts Theatre, and Children Edu-Culture Agency) can adopt various contents to successfully lead the creative culture industry development as core engines. The key to success of Hub City of Asian Culture is to combine ACC contents with Asian culture assets and Gwangju’s spiritual, social, and cultural values. Thus the distinctive location and symbolism of Gwangju can be made by circulating those values around Gwangju. Consequently, Gwangju will keep its identity and leap forward into the world. This process can be developed into local culture prosperity and connects the Creative Economy that is the prosperity through local culture. It is fair to say that the successful opening of ACC depends on how we contain the values of Asia, Korea, and Gwangju with creative imagination and ideas. ACC in particular has to assume an active role in making a dynamic engine of national and local Creative Economy and also play core roles in accomplishing government policy directives in pursuing the nation’s happiness through culture prosperity. To meet those requirements, ACC must carry out roles as Culture R&D and Culture Plant to connect creativity (humanistic imagination and ideas) with culture technology in Asian culture factors. In other words, ACC must be a laboratory and power plant for making contents to combine culture with industry in an organized fashion. From this point of view, it is suggested that five agencies (Democracy- Peace Exchange Agency, Asian Culture Information Agency, Culture Promotion Agency, Asian Arts Theatre, and Children Edu-Culture Agency) should function as a core engine of promoting contents industry based on imagination and as power plant for creative economy and local culture prosperity. First, based on imagination, Democracy-Peace Exchange Agency could function as an engine to lead narrative contents industrialization for making an emotional sympathy pathway by sharing the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Movement. Second, Asian Culture Information Agency could assume a role to be responsible for industrializing the source code to utilize the Asian culture prototype creatively. Third, Culture Promotion Agency could play an important role in industrializing future-oriented culture & arts contents. Fourth, Asian Arts Centre could take on a role in industrializing K-PERFORMANCE contents. Fifth, Children Edu-Culture Agency could lead roles in industrializing children’s culture & arts contents. In addition to those roles, ACC should produce the urban-growth model which creatively utilizes culture and arts assets to invigorate local creative economy, also achieving a goal in flourishing local culture. In sum, ACC has a mission to vitalize culture prosperity in Gwangju, Korea, and Asia, which must be accompanied by Asian’s growth. This means ACC is a power plant for Creative Economy to produce creative imagination and ideas.