MCST Doubles Budget for One-Act Play Production Support to 2 Billion Won

Support for the Production of 15 Works This Year

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) announced on July 8 that it will expand this year's budget for the one-act play production support program to 2 billion won, double last year's amount, and support the production of 15 works.

Since 2023, the MCST has been running the one-act play production support program in cooperation with the Korea Creative Content Agency to help debut new and talented creators, including writers and directors. Through the 2023 pilot project, one-act plays produced in collaboration with CJ ENM were broadcast on tvN and Tving. Last year, the program was officially expanded to support the production of one-act plays by emerging creators at broadcasting and video production companies.

Significant achievements were made in a short period of time.

Six supported works, including "Summer, Love Machine Blues" from 2023, won a total of seven awards at the 57th Houston International Film Festival, including the Special Jury Award and Best Editing Award. Among them, "Do Not Press the Peach" also won the Best One-Act Drama Award in the international competition category at the 19th Seoul International Drama Awards. Last year, four supported works, including "Scrap Dealer Mirani," continued to win awards at the 58th Houston Film Festival, and "Otaku's Daughter," which won the Gold Prize, attracted attention when it was broadcast on tvN and recorded a peak viewership rating of 4.7%.

An MCST policy official stated, "It is time to once again recognize the value of one-act plays, which contribute to the qualitative improvement of the drama industry and the strengthening of its future capabilities," and added, "The MCST will continue to actively reflect voices from the field and faithfully support one-act plays as a stepping stone for new creators to advance onto the global stage."