The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister CHAE Hwi-young, MCST) announced that it successfully hosted the welcome banquet for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) High-Level Dialogue on Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do province on August 26.

At this banquet, held ahead of the 2025 APEC High-Level Dialogue on Cultural and Creative Industries chaired by Minister CHAE, some 130 attendees — including minister- and vice-minister-level delegates from 21 member economies, private-sector speakers, and figures from the CCIs — gathered to share the achievements and future vision of Korea’s CCIs. In particular, a display of some 40 cultural products from the National Museum Cultural Foundation’s MU:DS, including a magpie and tiger badge from the animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, attracted significant attention from the delegates of various countries.

In his welcome speech, Minister CHAE emphasized the potential of CCIs. He also expressed his gratitude to the key creative leaders of Korea’s cultural content who were present at the banquet, including J.Y. PARK, Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of JYP Entertainment; JUNG Wook, CEO of JYP Entertainment; YANG Min-suk, CEO of YG Entertainment; LEE Jae-sang, CEO of HYBE; JANG Cheol-hyuk, CEO of SM Entertainment; KIM Jung-han, Executive Vice President for Strategic Support at CJ ENM; Bo SON, Managing Director of Motion Picture Association (MPA) Korea; and Tim JEON, Partner at Saehan Ventures.

Minister CHAE was followed by Mr. J.Y. PARK who delivered a presentation titled “K-Pop Connecting the World,” highlighting global success stories of K-pop and other facets of Korean popular culture. Among his remarks, he stated, “K-culture is more than just content; it is a cultural language and a platform for communication shared worldwide.” He also proposed that, through APEC-level cooperation, CCIs could continue to grow with innovative digital technologies and the cultivation of creative talent, a vision that resonated strongly with the attendees. Mr. Park added, “K-pop is no longer just a music genre but has become the most powerful cultural driving force reaching the hearts of people around the world.”

Minister CHAE stated, “K-content has been receiving a tremendous response from the global CCI market recently. It is meaningful not only to have leaders from pioneering K-culture companies attending this welcome dinner, but also to have them sharing presentations.” He added, “This inaugural  APEC High-Level Dialogue on Cultural and Creative Industries is being held in Gyeongju, Korea, marking the starting point for public-private collaboration that will drive cultural cooperation across APEC member economies. This collaboration is represented at this banquet by the coming together of culture ministers from our APEC partner nations and industry leaders.”