AI to Power Up Content... Record-High 150 Billion Won Invested in R&D

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Creative Content Agency Launch "K-Culture AI Oxygen Supply" Project
Budget Up 45.4 Billion Won from Last Year... 58.1 Billion Won Allocated to 52 Projects in First Phase

This year, a record-high 149.9 billion won will be invested in content research and development (R&D).

On January 19, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency announced the 2026 Culture, Sports and Tourism R&D Project plan. The budget has increased by 45.4 billion won from the previous year, with the goal of strengthening competitiveness as a national strategic industry by converging artificial intelligence (AI) and content.

The core initiative is the “K-Culture AI Oxygen Supply Project.” Four key areas will be prioritized: “Industrial AI Transformation (AX)” to drive future industries, “Sovereign AI” that incorporates Korean culture, “Public AX” to improve accessibility to public facilities, and “Advanced Talent Development” focused on new technology convergence.

Accordingly, 69.2 billion won has been allocated to the new R&D budget. In the first announcement, 58.1 billion won will be provided to 52 projects as a priority. By sector, the largest allocation-54.3 billion won-will go to “Culture, Arts, and Content.” This includes next-generation culture tech for AI transformation (AX) of cultural spaces and the development of large-scale language model (LLM) integration technology based on cultural and artistic ontologies. New programs have also been established for joint growth among large, medium, and small enterprises (6.3 billion won) and for public cultural facility AX (5.2 billion won).

In the copyright sector, 4.6 billion won will be invested, with the main objectives being the development of leading copyright technologies and responding to global issues. New projects have also been created to support technology verification and commercialization. R&D projects in sports (6.5 billion won) and tourism (3.8 billion won) will be announced separately at a later date.

Kim Myungha, Director of the Center for Cultural Technology Promotion at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, “AI-centered cultural technology R&D is the foundation of national competitiveness,” and added, “With the significant increase in support, we will establish a system that can contribute to industry growth.”

The Korea Creative Content Agency will hold a project briefing at 10 a.m. on January 23 at the Hongneung Talent Campus in Seoul. Applications will be accepted until February 12.