[2021 Budget] Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Allocates 6.8273 Trillion Won... Strengthening Non-Face-to-Face Content

Increase of 347 Billion KRW Compared to This Year
Budget for Supporting Industries Affected by COVID-19 and Job Creation Also Included

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 1st that the Ministry's budget plan for 2021, approved at the Cabinet meeting, was set at a total of 6.8273 trillion KRW. This represents an increase of 347 billion KRW compared to this year.

The Ministry's budget plan for next year includes a significant allocation for new projects aimed at ensuring stable cultural life for the public after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as supporting the early recovery of industries affected by COVID-19 such as culture and arts, content, tourism, and sports.

By sector, the culture and arts division includes ▲ Establishment and expansion of the Korean language promotion foundation (89.4 billion KRW) ▲ Promotion of industrialization of the arts (14.6 billion KRW) ▲ Togethernuri support (20.5 billion KRW) ▲ Operation of overseas Korean cultural centers (92.8 billion KRW) ▲ Creation of the Asia Culture Centered City (139.7 billion KRW), among others, with a total budget of 2.1832 trillion KRW, an increase of 61.9 billion KRW compared to this year.

The content sector includes ▲ Development of the music industry and popular culture industry (54.2 billion KRW) ▲ Game industry development (65 billion KRW) ▲ Proud Contents Korea Fund (127.8 billion KRW) ▲ Film production support (48.2 billion KRW) ▲ Broadcasting and video content production support (39.3 billion KRW) ▲ Research and development (R&D) projects in the content field (89.3 billion KRW), totaling 1.047 trillion KRW, an 8.5% increase over this year's budget.

The sports sector includes ▲ Financial support for the sports industry (119.2 billion KRW) ▲ Support for hosting international competitions domestically (18.2 billion KRW) ▲ Support for revitalizing the sports industry (60.1 billion KRW) ▲ Operation of the Sports Ethics Center (4.5 billion KRW) ▲ Support for the construction of national sports centers (272.5 billion KRW) ▲ Sports industry R&D (22.1 billion KRW), totaling 1.7491 trillion KRW, an increase of 53 billion KRW compared to this year.

The tourism sector includes ▲ Loan support for the tourism industry (600 billion KRW) ▲ Support for tourism business startups and venture growth (75.1 billion KRW) ▲ Activation of urban and industrial tourism (39.9 billion KRW) ▲ Smart tourism activation (24.6 billion KRW) ▲ Creation of high-quality tourism infrastructure (16.7 billion KRW) ▲ Activation of Korean tourism content (20.4 billion KRW), totaling 1.4859 trillion KRW, a 10.1% increase (136.8 billion KRW) compared to this year.

Expansion of Online Non-face-to-face Cultural Content

With the steady increase in demand for cultural and artistic enjoyment online after COVID-19, the budget for cultural content projects centered on non-face-to-face environments has been significantly expanded. Notably, new budgets were allocated for online media art activities support (4.9 billion KRW) and online cultural and arts education support (2 billion KRW).

In the popular music field, 29 billion KRW was newly allocated to create an online performance-only studio through the online immersive Korean popular music (K-pop) performance production support project.

In the sports sector, to support the development of the non-face-to-face sports market, 1,000 personnel will be trained for non-face-to-face sports convergence, and support will be provided to convert 660 sports facilities into non-face-to-face businesses. The related budget is 3.9 billion KRW.

Support for Recovery of Damaged Industry Ecosystems in Culture, Content, Sports, and Tourism

The budget to support the recovery of the cultural content, tourism, and sports industry ecosystems directly damaged by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has also been significantly increased. The investment amount for the film sector's mother fund, which invests in mid- and low-budget Korean films, has been expanded from 24 billion KRW to 35 billion KRW for next year.

Financial support for the tourism industry, including travel agencies and hotels, has been increased to 600 billion KRW, and special credit-guaranteed loans for small tourism businesses will be implemented at about 50 billion KRW. The 'sports industry loan' project, which supports the operation and facility funds of private sports facility operators, has been increased from 66.2 billion KRW this year to 106.2 billion KRW next year. To prevent job losses in the cultural, sports, and tourism fields due to COVID-19, a job budget for 11,606 jobs amounting to 94.9 billion KRW has also been allocated.

Customized Support for Vulnerable Groups and Expansion of Public Cultural Enjoyment

The support amount for the 'Integrated Cultural Voucher (Munhwa Nuri Card),' which provides cultural activity opportunities to basic livelihood security recipients and lower-income groups, will be increased by 10,000 KRW to 100,000 KRW per person annually. The 'Sports Class Voucher,' which provides opportunities for sports participation to marginalized groups, will also be supported for 72,000 people, an increase of 12,450 people.

To expand grassroots sports for the disabled, the construction of the 'Disabled National Sports Center (Bandabi Sports Center)' will continue, two additional disability fitness certification centers will be established, and a new pilot project for the 'Disabled Sports Bus,' which visits underserved areas to provide fitness measurement and sports experiences, will be launched. The worker vacation support project plans to expand support to 100,000 workers in small and medium-sized enterprises next year.

In addition, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated that it plans to continuously expand basic arts creation support for artists, support for disabled artists, cultural and tourism enjoyment infrastructure, and lifestyle sports facilities.

Diversification of Hallyu Content and Development of AI and Immersive Content

In cooperation with overseas diplomatic missions (10 locations), new traditional culture experience programs will be established, and projects such as 'development and support of representative performance content' that embody Korean values in collaboration with overseas artists will be promoted. Support for Hallyu tourism activation will also be expanded, including immersive technology-based Hallyu tourism resource experiences and promotion. The Ministry plans to further promote step-by-step overseas expansion of Hallyu content and marketing support for related industries.

A new project will be launched to introduce the cultures of key Hallyu consumption regions such as New Southern and New Northern countries to Korea and support training programs inviting popular culture artists from these countries.

To respond to rapidly changing environments such as the commercialization of 5G mobile communications, the Ministry plans to continuously foster cultural content growth engines by integrating new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and location-based services with cultural content including music, games, and video. In the gaming sector, the 'game production support' project will promote the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises through activation of game production based on new technologies such as AI and cloud, and establishment of console and arcade markets.

Fostering Leading Cultural Industries through Korean New Deal in the Culture Sector

In line with the 'Korean New Deal' policy direction, the Ministry has identified a total of 51 detailed tasks, including 47 digital New Deal projects such as immersive and convergence content, 2 green New Deal projects such as eco-friendly social overhead capital (SOC) construction, and 2 safety net strengthening projects such as the introduction of employment insurance for artists.

It will invest 133.5 billion KRW in 15 detailed tasks fostering the immersive content industry based on 5G communication networks, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and holograms, and 52.1 billion KRW in 10 projects developing convergence content that combines AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and culture.

Additionally, projects supporting non-face-to-face services in culture, arts, and sports sectors for coexistence with quarantine (14 detailed tasks, 52.1 billion KRW), and building data infrastructure in the culture sector (8 detailed tasks, 30.1 billion KRW) will also be promoted.