SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) — South Korea will spend about 790 billion won (US$622.5 million) this year to support small businesses and start-ups in the content industry to increase exports of Korean cultural content. are going to spend the government said on Thursday.
The government will also create a historical and cultural-themed tourism cluster in the old neighborhood around the former presidential residence in central Seoul, aiming to make it the first year of South Korea’s efforts to become a tourism powerhouse. I’m here.
These plans were included in a report by Minister of Culture Park Bo-kyun to President Yoon Suk-yeol on six work plans for the Ministry of Culture this year.
Based on the comprehensive work plan, the Ministry of Culture plans to invest 790 billion won in programs to support SMEs, start-ups and ventures in the content industry, including the 410 billion won K Contents Fund, which invests in Korean cultural content. .
The 790 billion won is the largest ever government loan to such a company. The Ministry of Culture invested 526.8 billion won in aid last year.
The content industry is a general term for organizations that make their copyrighted works available to the public, such as publishing, music, games, broadcasting, movies, cartoons, animations, and characters.
The ambitious plan will see the industry emerge as the country’s new export leader in recent years amid a global boom in Korean pop culture products such as movies, TV dramas and pop music, also known as “Hallyu.” Born from what is happening.
South Korea’s cultural content exports will reach a record US$12.4 billion in 2021, fueled by the global boom in Korean pop culture, according to government figures released Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Culture, this figure far exceeds consumer electronics ($8.67 billion), rechargeable batteries ($8.67 billion), electric vehicles ($6.99 billion) and display panels ($3.6 billion).
The ministry will assist startups and ventures in the industry to materialize their ideas from the early stages of idea planning and development. The government also plans to spend 56.4 billion won this year on a program to train 10,000 professionals with the ability to create content using new technologies over the next three years.
Another major pillar of the 2023 work plan is to combine the growing popularity of Korean pop culture overseas with the resurgence of tourism to South Korea.
To this end, the government has declared 2023 as the ‘Visit Korea Year’ and plans to hold a Korea Tourism Roadshow to promote Korea in 15 major cities around the world.
Centering on the former presidential residence of the Presidential Palace in central Seoul, we will create a cluster of tourism with the theme of history and culture in the old streets. The area around Gyeongbokgung Palace, the royal residence of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), is a popular tourist destination with beautiful hanok houses, art galleries, museums, cafes and restaurants.
Cheong Wa Dae became a hot tourist destination after President Yoon Seok-yeol fulfilled an election promise to move the functions of the presidential office to another part of Seoul and open the once heavily fortified grounds to the public. More than 2.7 million people have visited the site since it opened in May last year.
The government has improved the electronic travel authorization system called K-eta to make it more convenient for foreign tourists, and has created a K-culture trainee visa that allows foreigners visiting South Korea to learn about Korean culture. and allow them to stay for up to two years.
Through these efforts, the ministry aims to increase the country’s revenue from tourism to $30 billion by 2027, from $10.3 billion and 970,000 in 2021 to 30 million foreign tourists by 2027.
In response to the growing demand for learning Korean among global fans of Korean pop culture, the government has launched a global network of government-sponsored Korean language education institutions, Sejong Institutes, worldwide. continues to expand to 270 stores. Year, from the current 244.
The ministry’s work plan for 2023 includes supporting the next generation of leaders in Korean classical music, promoting balanced regional development of the country in terms of cultural and tourism infrastructure, and creating cultural opportunities for the socially vulnerable. It also included policies to expand the
As for sports, we will focus on making it possible for people to enjoy sports in their daily lives, and on improving the system to support athletes.
