The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has been chosen as next year's South Korean "Culture City of East Asia."

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Thursday that South Korea's Jeju Island, Chinese city of Ningbo in Zhejiang province and Japan's Nara city in Nara prefecture have been designated as East Asian culture cities for next year.

The three cities will hold various exchanges and cooperative activities through joint cultural events throughout the year.

The ministry cited Jeju's experience in successfully hosting many international events as one of the reasons the island was chosen.

Culture cities designated this year include South Korea's Cheongju, China's Qingdao and Niigata in Japan.