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| The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) held its 11th Culture Communication Forum (CCF) on Aug. 26-27 at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. Courtesy of CICI |
By Dong Sun-hwa
The COVID-19 pandemic has paralyzed offline conventions and concerts, bringing seismic change to the delivery of cultural content. But amid the difficulty lies opportunity, said Amy Chu, a comic book author who has written popular characters including Wonder Woman, Deadpool and Iron Man.
"Comic conventions have gone digital to replicate the physical experience online, but this has helped equalize the footing for the creators," Chu said via a video call, Thursday. She was one of four speakers at The Corea Image Communication Institute's (CICI) 11th Culture Communication Forum (CCF).
"On online events, creators at small companies can have the same digital presence as those at big companies like Netflix," Chu said. "They can take advantage in terms of reaching the market."
K-pop columnist Jeff Benjamin, who also was a speaker, revealed how the K-pop industry has been coping with the virus outbreak.
He said K-pop stars and their record labels have discovered ways to stay connected with followers around the world through virtual concerts and virtual fan events.
"Boy band SuperM, for instance, played an online concert in April and drew 75,000 viewers," Benjamin said. "Some singers are having virtual fan signing events. These changes brought to the K-pop scene will continue beyond the time we are living now."
Cartoonist Christopher Terry Mosher, also known as Aislin, talked about how humor can contribute to the virus-stricken world.
"Humor sustains us and often works as a safety valve," he said. "When our societies face unfamiliar situations like pandemic, humor can work as an 'antidote' to handle collective confusion and frustration."
Ana Serrano, president of the Ontario College of Art and Design University, said the value of arts and culture during times of crisis is priceless, so people need to figure out how to support these sectors.
For this year's CCF, which took place on Aug. 26-27, experts from around the globe shared their views through video calls with the panelists in Korea ― including French Ambassador Philippe Lefort, EU Ambassador Michael Reiterer, Swedish Ambassador Jakob Hallgren, Indonesian Ambassador Umar Hadi, Canadian Ambassador Michael Danagher and Indian Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan ― at the event at the Grand Hyatt Seoul.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korean Culture and Information Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and CICI co-hosted the forum.
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