The government has selected some four-thousand teachers of the fine arts who will be assigned to some 54-hundred elementary, middle and high schools across the nation this year.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday that those selected will teach in eight subject areas, including Korean traditional music, drama and dancing.

The number of such teachers selected for this year is up nearly 20 percent from last year. The budget needed for the teachers will be provided by the Culture Ministry and the education offices of each city and district.

The ministries of culture and education plan to raise the number of new fine-arts teachers to five-thousand by 2012.