Korea plans to become one of the world’s top four cultural powers by ramping up exports of content such as TV series and pop music. This was announced on Thursday by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
«Ranked among the top four countries in the world with the most cultural influence after the US, China and Japan, the Korean content industry has a positive impact on the national brand image and exports of other related industries.“, said Kim Jae-hyun, head of the content policy bureau of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Korea currently ranks 7th in the world in terms of market share in the content industry. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has set a goal to increase content exports to $25 billion by 2027. The state plans to invest 790 billion won ($609 million) in 2023 and 1 trillion won in 2024 through various funds to help boost content exports.
The content industry has already become the country’s top export sector, totaling $12.4 billion in 2021, ahead of home appliances ($8.6 billion) and displays ($3.6 billion), according to the ministry.
«Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic downturn, the content industry’s annual export growth rate has averaged 9 percent over the past five years, and exports have been in surplus over the past 10 years. “, said Kim.
The government, as part of its overseas expansion plan, plans to look for new export markets in North America, Europe and the Middle East. It should be noted that China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan account for more than 50 percent of the total export value of the content industry.
Korea will host K-content Expo events in the UK and US in 2023 and will reopen content centers in New York, London, Frankfurt, New Delhi and Mexico City in the second half of this year. Korean content will also take part in French MIPTV, MIPCOM, Cannes Film Festival, Singapore Asian TV Forum and Market, and German Berlin Film Festival.
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Given the popularity of Korean content in the Middle East, the government plans to create content using local languages and cultural traditions, and promote K content through cultural events such as K-pop performances.
The Ministry aims to expand the reach of the content industry beyond just supporting the webtoon industry and funding dramas, movies, and streaming theater (OTT) TV shows. This year, a 45.4 billion won investment is planned to encourage local production studios to protect their intellectual property rights.
The government believes that the growing worldwide popularity of K-content will have an indirect impact on other related industries such as fashion, beauty, home appliances, IT and construction.
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