"K-Content, Source of Economic Rebound" Export Volume to Double

Minister Park Bo-gyun of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Announces K-Content Export Strategy
Keywords: 3E Expansion, Extension, Effect

The government is putting its life on the line for K-content exports. The focus is on entering the ranks of the world's top four content powerhouses. The plan is to nurture it as a national strategic industry and drive an increase in export volume. The goal is $25 billion by 2027, double last year's estimated $13.01 billion. Given the 9.0% average annual growth over the past five years (2017?2021) and the fact that it is the only service industry to have increased its surplus for 10 consecutive years, this is deemed achievable. The strategy also envisions enhancing brand image and expanding exports in manufacturing and service industries through a premium effect.

On the 23rd, Park Bo-gyun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, announced the K-content export strategy at the 4th Export Strategy Meeting chaired by President Yoon Seok-yeol. He presented three new growth engines: overseas territory expansion (Expansion), industrial sector extension (Extension), and the spread of premium effects in related industries (Effect). Minister Park stated, "We will focus on policies to ensure that K-content becomes the catalyst leading South Korea’s exports and economy, serving as the source for economic re-acceleration."

The export markets under close watch are North America, Europe, and the Middle East. The current structure, heavily concentrated in the Chinese-speaking region (36%) and Japan (15.4%), is seen as limiting growth. Within this year, K-content expos will be held in the United States and the United Kingdom, and in the second half of the year, the Korea Creative Content Agency’s business centers (in New York, London, Frankfurt, New Delhi, and Mexico City) will be expanded to provide close support to domestic companies. Support for local language interpretation and translation will also be strengthened. The plan is to break down language barriers beyond English to facilitate easier market entry.

The sector receiving the most attention for North American and European expansion is gaming. This year, 9 billion KRW will be invested in popular local console games, and legal, technical consulting, and marketing support will be provided to game companies aiming for global expansion. Opportunities for film and broadcasting business operators will also increase. Support will be provided for participation in major buyer gatherings such as MIPTV and MIPCOM in France, ATF in Singapore, and the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals. Efforts will be made to secure buyers in Middle Eastern regions such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Customized content production and consulting will be supported, considering local characteristics such as Arabic language services and Arab cultural backgrounds, while cultural events like K-pop concerts will be held to increase cultural connections.

The core of industrial sector expansion lies in webtoons and OTT content. The goal is to accelerate the overseas market establishment of domestic webtoon platforms and lead production companies to participate in major comic events. Business matching events will also be held in major overseas cities such as New York. Support will be provided to help webtoons transition into various genres such as dramas and films. Meanwhile, a win-win cooperation model with global OTT platforms will be created, and a foundation will be laid for small and medium-sized production companies to secure intellectual property rights (IP). The latter will be realized through 45.4 billion KRW worth of OTT-specialized production support.

Industries expected to benefit from the premium effect include fashion, beauty, smartphones, home appliances, and construction. The K-brand promotional center established in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the K-expo scheduled for October in Thailand will be used as joint promotional venues for content and consumer goods. Collaboration product development using content IP, such as working with K-pop singers and using characters for food products, will also be supported. Market access will be opened for small and medium-sized enterprises that find independent overseas expansion difficult. K-food fairs will be held in major overseas cities, and beauty exhibition and experience centers will be established to enhance the brand image of cosmetics and other products.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is also focusing on building the foundation to facilitate smooth exports. Considering the digital native generation, a 'K-content Metaverse World' will be established, and commercialization of content production using generative AI will be supported. The scale of policy finance, including the K-content fund and interest support, will expand from 790 billion KRW this year to 1 trillion KRW next year. A ministry official said, "We plan to create export-specialized funds to invest in overseas-linked content such as overseas expansion projects and domestic company participation in overseas production projects."