Professor Kim Sook-young of UCLA predicted that the formation of a roughly 700 billion won fund by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z to invest in K-culture "will easily happen in the future."
On Dec. 23 in the afternoon at Anderson C. in Seongsu, Seoul, a "Netflix Insight" event was held.
At the event, external experts including Hongik University professor Yoo Hyun-joon, UCLA professor Kim Sook-young, Lee Seung-eun, Vice Administrator of overseas operations for the product distribution strategy team at the National Museum Foundation of Korea (NMF), KOTRA's Lee Sang-yoon, Hallyu PM, and pop columnist Kim Tae-hoon participated to analyze the powerful ripple effects K-content has had on the consumption habits and lifestyles of Millennials and Gen Z around the world, and the changes in the global cultural landscape brought about by K-content were discussed intensively.
Recently, news drew attention that American rapper and pop star Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z is planning to form a $500 million (735 billion won) fund to invest in Korean "K-culture" corporations.
U.S. media reported that the investment firm Marcy Venture Partners, in which Jay-Z invested, and Hanwha Asset Management said they will form a private equity fund to invest in Korean entertainment, beauty, food and lifestyle corporations seeking to expand overseas.
According to reports, Marcy Venture Partners and Hanwha Asset Management signed an agreement at the investment event "Abu Dhabi Finance Week" held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, to create multiple investment funds targeting the Asia region. The funds are reportedly planning to begin raising capital from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and high-net-worth individuals from the second half of next year.
Asked "How do you view this kind of investment? Do you think it is a turning point?" Professor Kim Sook-young said, "In the U.S., trickle-down effects often spread through celebrities. The reaction is different when Jay-Z invests compared with when an ordinary person makes that level of investment. I think it is news that draws more attention because of that."
She continued, "It takes quite a while for the direction of interpretation and the axis of emphasis to shift, but after that, things that were impossible in the past easily happen," and added, "I think we will see more changes in popular culture perception in the future, including people's accumulated shifts in awareness," expressing hope for positive change.
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