| First Vice Culture Minister Kim Yong-sam speaks during a press briefing at the Central Government Complex, Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Korea will spend a total of 1.69 trillion won ($1.42 billion) in assistance funds in 2020 as part of its plan to foster local creativity and boost global sales of Korean cultural content, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday.
Under its 2020 policy plan, the culture ministry plans to make 80 billion won worth of venture investments to support pioneering projects.
It will also increase its financial support for augmented reality and virtual reality content to 75.1 billion won this year, from 55.6 billion won in 2019, to further encourage research and development in the emerging high-tech sector.
For the first time in history, the country's content industry saw its combined exports surpass the $10 billion mark in 2019.
Director Bong Joon-ho's black comedy "Parasite" won four Academy Awards, including best picture and best director, in February. K-pop phenomenon BTS also topped the Billboard Top 200 album chart with it latest "Map of The Soul: 7" in March.
First Vice Culture Minister Kim Yong-sam referenced both "Parasite" and BTS as successful examples, saying at a press briefing, "Korea's culture is gaining more international recognition than ever."
To capitalize on "Hallyu," or the Korean Wave, to appeal to foreigners, the ministry said it will organize a string of fairs, festivals and cultural and artistic events to promote Korean culture.
Last month, the culture ministry joined forces with other ministries to launch a so-called "Hallyu control tower," to draw up a set of measures to enhance the popularity of Hallyu overseas.
The government will collaborate with companies and celebrities to support new cultural development ― linking Hallyu to Korea's exports as well as the manufacturing and service sectors.
Meanwhile, the culture ministry will expand the global network of its state-run Korean language education centers, King Sejong Institutes, in 60 countries outside of Korea to a total of 210 branches from the current 180 branches.
To promote open and fair competition within the content industry, the ministry hinted at introducing a new screen regulation which would restrict movie theaters from showing a single film on more than half of their screens.
The ministry will also step up efforts to root out the malpractice of chart rigging, which is prevalent in the local pop music scene, to help secure the fair operation of local music charts.
Following such new measures, Korea aims to increase its content industry exports to $10.9 billion in 2020 from last year's $10.3 billion.
On the sidelines, the culture ministry said it will continue talks with North Korea to form a unified Korea team with North Korean athletes to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
"Despite difficulties resulting from COVID-19, the ministry will employ policies to boost the culture, sports and tourism sectors," Kim said.