The Spain Business Center holds its opening ceremony on the 24th at the Korean Cultural Center in Spain with the attendance of local relevant agencies and corporate representatives. (Front row, from left) Emilio De Miguel Calabia, General Director of Casa Asia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Yu Hyun-seok, acting director of KOCCA, Jang Mi-ran, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Jang Hyeon-cheol, Minister at the Korean Embassy in Spain, and Pablo Conde Díez del Corral, General Director of the Spain Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ICEX). (Back row, from left) Roberto Cueto, professor of audiovisual communication at Carlos III University of Madrid, Diana Bueno, director of the Spain Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ICEX), Daniel Tomás (Director of Content Marketing, Salon de Comic), Meritxell Puig, General Director of Salon de Comic, Byeon Mi-young, head of the Spain Business Center, Shin Jae-kwang, head of the Korean Cultural Center in Spain, José Francisco Herrera Antonaya, General Director of International Relations Bureau in Madrid, Jang Min, influencer couple, and Alexander Hafner, actor and model). /Courtesy of KOCCA

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (hereafter referred to as the Content Agency) announced on the 4th that they established local business centers to support the export of domestic corporations to South America and Europe, holding opening ceremonies for the Brazil business center on the 23rd and the Spain business center on the 24th.

The Brazil business center is the third established hub in Central and South America, following Mexico and Argentina, and plans to support the local settlement of Korean content and business exchanges. The Brazilian content industry is estimated to be around $31.5 billion (approximately 45.9 trillion won) as of 2023, making it the largest content market in South America, with a projected annual growth rate of 6% until 2027.

Around 50 representatives from Brazil's content industry attended the opening ceremony, including Chae Jin-won, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in São Paulo, Kim Cheol-hong, Director of the Korea Cultural Center in Brazil, and Liara Oliveira, Chair of the São Paulo Film Commission (SPCINE).

Consul General Chae Jin-won noted, "Brazil is one of the world's leading content powerhouses, and as the popularity of the Korean Wave through K-POP spreads, public interest and collaborative cases for K-content are increasing. I expect that the opening of the Brazil business center will further enhance exchanges and collaborations in the content industry between the two countries."

At the opening ceremony, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation for the K-drama festival was also signed. As part of this, the São Paulo Institute of Arts and Culture (ISPAC) and the Content Agency will cooperate to hold the K-drama festival in 2025.

The opening ceremony for the Spain business center was held on the 24th at the Korean Cultural Center in Spain. This hub is the seventh business center in Europe, following France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Turkey, and will support the entry and cooperation networks of K-content in the European market.

With over 400 million people speaking Spanish, Spain is expanding its influence within the global content industry, and the Spain business center plans to discover local joint projects to create global success stories.

The opening ceremony was attended by around 80 people, including Jang Mi-ran, the Second Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, officials from the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ICEX), and local corporations and media.

Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran said, "I hope the Spain business center will play a significant role as a connection between our corporations and the local market so that the increasing interest and demand for K-content in Spain can lead to exports. I expect that K-content, recognized worldwide, will be supplied and enjoyed more in Spain."

Meanwhile, the Content Agency currently operates 25 overseas bases. This year, it plans to open five additional business centers, bringing the total number of overseas bases to 30. This will support the overseas expansion of domestic corporations based on country and region-specific overseas bases.