Korean Wave sweeps across Asia

It was interesting for me that even the Culture Ministry is aiming to develop the "Hallyu" nore and more. This article says that the ministry will be putting emphasis on narrowing the gap between the cultural haves and have-nots.

Hope you guys are having awesome time now!! :D


Ministry committed to establishing nation's brand and image

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is pushing ahead with a set of initiatives aimed at promoting relations with other Asian nations and further enhancing the image of the Korean Wave, or the Asia-wide fad for Korean pop culture.
In the ministry's recently released annual plan, it will further spur the Korean Wave in order to beef up the country's brand and image in overseas markets. The fast-growing domestic movie industry is also helping spur the growth of Korean Wave products in major Asian markets, reinforcing the positive outlook.
The Culture Ministry is in charge of running the major programs aimed at supporting the spread of the Korean Wave and checking progress at the 16 government agencies involved with the initiatives. It will also help provide various support programs to private companies in their efforts to create new, innovative cultural content and enter overseas markets.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism will put emphasis on narrowing the gap between the cultural haves and have-nots.
The areas where the Korean Wave is now fast spreading are Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The ministry views these countries as a place to encourage consumers to recognize the unique Korean culture and purchase Korean products. To that end, the ministry said it will help domestic firms to stage promotional events in the target markets.
Other markets like South America, the Middle East and Russia have the potential and are yet to be tapped. These markets lack the immediate market values for content developers in Korea, but some content like television drams and movies could spark a boom for Korean pop culture.
In the same vein, the Culture Ministry plans to increase cultural exchanges with key emerging countries known as BRICs in a bid to strengthen the country's edge in the entertainment sector.
According to the plan, Korea will pay special attention to BRICs, referring to Brazil, Russia, India and China. A host of other measures including the formation of a 300 billion won culture fund and a plan to attract as many as 900,000 Chinese tourists were also unveiled.
Field research to find new market demands for cultural content will be conducted in Brazil, whose entertainment industry is valued at $10 billion, and more exchanges of ballet and literature will be promoted with Russia.
Korea is now keen on promoting and exporting its pop culture products, including the much-touted Korean Wave movies and television dramas. BRICs nations are deemed ideal for absorbing Korea's new cultural products.
With Brazil's entertainment market expanding at 6 percent a year, Russia is also witnessing hyper growth of 18.3 percent per year in its movie industry. India's film market, known for its vibrant Bollywood productions, is also exploding with some 100 new theaters popping up across the nation, and China's media and entertainment market is seeing an annual growth of 25.2 percent.
The ministry said Korea's cultural center in Beijing will be transformed into the culture and tourism center in October this year, and the cultural centers will debut in Shanghai and Moscow by the end of the year as part of efforts to focus on BRICs. The cultural centers for Brazil and India will be established in 2007.
On the domestic cultural areas, the ministry said it would put emphasis on narrowing the gap between the cultural haves and have-nots by earmarking 53.3 billion won for the related projects.
In detail, the ministry will help provide books, stage cultural performances and offer education programs to those who have been sidelined - the handicapped, the elderly and foreign workers. Financial support will be also provided to regional cul ture centers, museums and art galleries.
The culture fund is one of the key initiatives among top policymakers at the ministry. The fund designed to promote small- and medium-sized companies in the cultural sector will start with 50 billion won in the second half of this year and will expand to handle 300 billion won by 2011.
To celebrate the 120th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Korea and France, the ministry said it will help stage a variety of cultural events including a state-owned "Korea Fantasy" troupe and a Korean film festival.
Meanwhile, ministry officials said they continue to push for its ambitious "C-Korea 2010," a set of large-scale initiatives aimed at strengthening Korea's culture, sports and leisure industry.
C-Korea 2010 is based on the three Cs of "Content," "Creativity" and "Culture," and the latest plans have mapped out detailed vision, budgets, implementation schedules and strategies.
C-Korea 2010 sets three policy objectives: the world's No.5 culture powerhouse, Northeast Asia's top tourism hub and the world's No. 10 leisure sports leader. Korea's culture, tourism and leisure industries combined are worth 117 trillion won as of 2004, employing about 2.6 million people, according to the ministry data.
(insight@heraldm.com)
By Yang Sung-jin