-         On May 23, MCST announced International Cultural Promotion Policy

 - Established Four Strategies with Eight Key Tasks to become a Global Cultural Pivotal Country

- Enhance K-Culture advancing into global market through collaboration and connection

On May 23 (Thur), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST) announced the International Cultural Policy Promotion Strategy to spur Korea’s growth as an global cultural hub.

With the worldwide popularity of Korean culture, the number of students at King Sejong Institutes has approximately doubled in the last five years[1], and the global interest in Korean culture has grown to the extent that K-wave was singled out as the number one reason for considering a trip to Korea[2]. As this positive outlook for entering into the global stage is growing in Korean culture and art and industry, the demand of efficient and systematic policies is also increasing.[3]

In response to the growing demands, the MCST established the International Cultural Affairs and Public Relations Office on February 6, as a dedicated organization to strengthen international cultural exchange and promote Korean culture abroad, and formulated the International Cultural Policy Promotion Strategy based on around 70 rounds of field consultation. The ministry revised existing international cultural policies by combining major policy improvements from meetings with related organizations, individuals, groups, and companies participating in international cultural exchanges such as culture and arts, cultural content, tourism, and sports. It developed four strategies and eight key tasks to strengthen and support the global dissemination of K-culture.

[1] “Integrate” siloed international cultural policy implementation systems, Innovate the policy promotion system

First, a comprehensive promotion system is established to link and coordinate previously siloed global exchange projects in culture and arts, cultural content, tourism, sports as well as in other industries. The MCST plans to administer the International Cultural Policy Council to coordinate policies in the respective fields and comprehensively discuss collaborative measures. Outside of Korea, Korean Cultural Centers will serve as focal points for the dissemination of K-culture, as they lead cooperation with the branches of the Korea Tourism Organization, overseas business centers of the Korea Creative Content Agency, and King Sejong Institutes. The ministry plans to strengthen the operation of the International Cultural Exchange Promotion Council  as well as the K-Content Export Council with a view to enhancing policy discussion with other ministries and the private sector.

The ministry will also expand the functions of Korean Cultural Centers (Promotion Centers) located at 42 locations in 34 countries worldwide to serve as K-culture outposts in their respective regions by training the directors of cultural centers and strengthening the evaluation of cultural centers. It also plans to restructure a number of programs operated by Korean Cultural Centers into self-planned programs, regional tour programs, and occasion-specific events while diversifying the program areas to help the centers provide high-quality cultural programs all year round. In areas with no Korean Cultural Center, the MCST will gradually expand the function of King Sejong Institutes so they can serve as “Mini-Korean Cultural Centers.” To ensure the stable operation of the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, which is currently designated as an organization dedicated to supporting international cultural exchange, the ministry will insert the legal basis for its establishment in the relevant law and reorganize the international cultural exchange programs run by other organizations centering around the foundation to strengthen its role as an international exchange organization for the culture sector.

[2] Reorganize  siloed and complex support projects into easy-to-understand “field-oriented” projects

The structure of existing support projects related to international cultural exchange is also completely reorganized. The public offering system for private international exchange activities in the field of culture and arts has been converted into a system of supporting works intended for leading overseas institutions and festivals that have been identified, thereby minimizing the need for qualitative screening. The elements for supporting will be also standardized to airfares, etc., and settlement procedures will be streamlined to lower the administrative burden on the field.

Small-scale events previously held individually will be linked and integrated into brands to increase external awareness. ▴ The cultural event touring support project, previously operated separately through the Culture and Arts Promotion Fund and by Korean Cultural Centers, will be unified into “Touring K-Arts.” ▴ Korean cultural festivals held in conjunction with diplomatic relations, international events, etc. will be organized into “Korea Season.” ▴ Business-to-business (B2B) events will be promoted under a single brand, “Korea Expo,” and reorganized to make them easier to understand in the field.

To increase opportunities for international exchange between private and local cultural artists and organizations, the MCST plans to expand collaboration with private culture and arts foundations or local cultural foundations when developing tour events for Korean Cultural Centers. The ministry will also operate a professional advisory group consisting of experts who are knowledgeable about regional circumstances. It plans to improve the private sector’s access to international exchange efforts by providing customized consulting on the overseas regions in which they wish to operate.

The MCST will strengthen the training of professionals and the provision of information to promote field-oriented international cultural exchange activities. The ministry will expand the scope of international cultural exchange training programs and their trainees and increase the number of personnel dispatched to Korean Cultural Centers and overseas cultural and arts organizations. Exploration on the possibility of collaboration with universities in Korea is also underway to train prospective professionals for international cultural exchange. To address the issue of information gaps in the field, the MCST will also establish a comprehensive platform that integrates siloed business information related to international cultural exchange and overseas market information.

[3] All-round support to promote the “diverse” appeal of K-culture to the world

The MCST will intensively promote Korean culture in general by expanding “Korea Season,” a comprehensive Korean cultural festival encompassing the fields of culture and arts, cultural content, sports, and tourism. Through preliminary research that takes into account major opportunities and the characteristics of each country, approximately 10 target countries will be selected each year to hold “Korea Season” events and appoint a general art director. Large-scale projects will be planned and carried out for several years in advance to lay the foundation for developing Korea Season into high-quality events.

To diversify the export markets for K-wave content, the MCST will increase its bases of operation overseas. This year, the ministry will open new overseas content business centers in 10 regions including Singapore, India, Australia, and Spain, and plan to increase the number of centers to 50 by 2027. For Korean content businesses wishing to go global, the ministry will provide customized consultation and information on their new markets, comprehensively including export consultation from the initial stage of business with basic-level contract review and marketing strategies, to the matured stage of business, helping them with local information (9 countries → 13 countries) and customer management.

The MCST will also expand financial support to establish a stable export foundation for K-culture (completion guarantee limit for exports: KRW 3 billion → KRW 5 billion), promote copyright protection (overseas application registration : 125 companies → 200 companies), and boost expertise including by increasing the number of content translators (42 people → 70 people). In addition, the ministry will significantly improve conditions for overseas expansion of K-culture in general through enhancing its strategic trade negotiations for cultural services.

[4] Facilitate “collaboration” to maximize K-culture spillover effects

By strengthening the linkage between the K-wave and the related consumer goods, the MCST will tighten interministerial collaboration to promote synergy. The ministry will organize “K-Expos” at least twice each year with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. A promotion center will open in Dubai at the end of the year following the launch of a promotion center in Jakarta, Indonesia (Korea 360). The MCST will also provide continuous support from product development to publicity by linking product development using intellectual properties such as characters and product placement and PR activities for dramas.

To provide opportunities to experience K-culture even in areas without Korean Cultural Centers, the MCST will work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide cultural activity events at 167 overseas diplomatic missions. The MCST will expand the K-culture promotion network worldwide by organizing events and lectures on Korean culture that reflect local demands and interests using overseas missions as bases of operation. The ministry plans to actively collaborate with the Ministry of Education to translate people’s interest in Korean culture into an interest in studying in Korea by holding an education fair linked to local cultural events.

In an effort to strengthen collaboration with private companies as well as organizations related to culture and arts, Korean Cultural Centers will individually host localized cultural events under public-private partnership. The ministry plans to reflect this in the training and evaluation of cultural center directors to widely share collaboration practices among centers abroad. The ministry will also provide information on the Korean Cultural Center’s performance and exhibition facilities to help the private sector develop plans for collaboration with the centers in advance.

The MCST will also increase exchange and cooperation with the international community to raise the status of K-culture. By holding a large-scale Korean Wave cultural festival (tentatively named Beyond K-Festival) in Korea, the ministry will boost global interest in K-wave, and by holding an international round-table (international forum) on the sidelines of this festival, the ministry will contribute to the development of international cultural policies and solidify Korea’s position as a cultural powerhouse.

To ensure the continuous popularity of K-wave, the ministry will promote policies to increase the acceptance of K-wave overseas and create an atmosphere of communication and understanding by expanding exchanges and collaboration between countries where K-wave enjoys high popularity and the domestic culture and art field. Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects for cultural international development will also be reorganized more systematically by reflecting the needs of partner countries, including support that integrates infrastructure construction, policy advice, and capacity-building training.

Minister YU said, “Now that global interest in Korean culture has increased, our goal is to let the world know the appeals of our culture by fully supporting the overseas expansion of K-culture.” He added, “Building on the International Cultural Policy Promotion Strategy, we will systematically reorganize and expand existing policies and spearhead cooperation with various entities to stay on the forefront of Korea’s growth into an global cultural pivotal country.”