Minister Chae Hwi-young of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said at the National Assembly's Culture. Sports. and Tourism Committee audit on the 14th that "with K-culture's global expansion, our stature as a cultural nation is higher than ever," adding, "We will nurture K-culture as a future growth industry worth more than 300 trillion won and solidify the cultural and artistic ecosystem that serves as its base and foundation."
He cited as the main achievements pursued by the ministry this year: ▲ turning K-content into a national strategic industry ▲ strengthening communication with the world ▲ achieving 30 million inbound tourists to Korea early and fostering regional tourism ▲ creating an environment for free artistic creation.
The ministry has focused on fostering K-content as a national strategic industry this year. The Minister said, "We supplied large-scale policy funds to ensure capital circulates in the content industry and brought in foreign capital," adding, "We also expanded tax support, such as a tax credit for video content production costs and the introduction of a tax credit for webtoons." On the content side, it increased support for mid-budget films and focused on discovering global super intellectual property (IP) in the webtoon sector.
To foster K-content, the ministry plans to focus on the artificial intelligence great transformation (AX) going forward. The Minister said, "We will not only support content production using artificial intelligence (AI) but also expand the building and opening of cultural data to respond actively to AI." She also said, "We will improve enforcement procedures to block access to overseas illegal sites that infringe copyright and amend the Copyright Act to introduce a punitive damages system."
Expanding inbound tourism and revitalizing regional tourism were also presented as key tasks. The Minister said, "To achieve 30 million inbound tourists to Korea early, we implemented visa-free entry for Chinese group tourists and strengthened promotional activities using K-content IP and Hallyu stars." To foster regional tourism, it eased cost burdens on the public through worker vacation support and lodging discount vouchers.
Strengthening cultural exchanges with overseas partners was also cited as a major achievement. The Minister said, "We enhanced our stature as a cultural powerhouse through communication with overseas," adding, "On Aug. we held the first ministerial-level cultural meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and adopted a joint declaration for cooperation in the cultural and creative industries."
Going forward, the government will expand the "Korea Center," which integrates export support agencies, and increase the number of content export business centers to 30. It will also establish a master plan with relevant ministries to spread Hallyu-related industries such as K-beauty, K-food, and K-fashion, and strengthen global promotional support through Hallyu expos.
The Minister also cited the creation of an environment for free artistic creation as an achievement. He said, "To support the stable activities of artists from vulnerable groups, we are providing preparation funds for artistic activities and livelihood safety funds," adding, "We will identify and foster representative regional arts organizations so that high-quality performances and exhibitions can be showcased across the country."