KOCCA, King Sejong Institute to promote hallyu together
Hong Sang-pyo, fourth from left, president of the Korean Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), and Song Hyang-geun, third from right, president of the King Sejong Institute Foundation, hold up a memorandum of understanding signed Monday at the KOCCA building in Seoul. / Courtesy of KOCCA
By Kim Ji-soo
Two agencies separately charged with governing cultural content and Korean-language education on Monday joined hands to further promote Korean language and “hallyu,” or the Korean wave.
The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) and the King Sejong Institute signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to step up cooperation to use hallyu content in teaching the Korean language.
KOCCA is an affiliate agency of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports, while the King Sejong Institute is a state-supported institution that teaches Korean language, culture and history at overseas Korean cultural centers and universities. The institute is named after the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) ruler who oversaw the development of the Korean alphabet of “Hangeul, ” and has about 104 branches around the world.
The MOU agrees that the two agencies will share information, advise on technology involved in the production of hallyu content, and support training and overseas promotions.
“Hallyu content is an excellent material in learning the Korean language,” said Hong Sang-pyo, president & CEO of KOCCA. “We expect to see a further spread of the Korean language as well as other Korean cultural content from this MOU.”
“The infrastructure of the King Sejong Institute stands in places where hallyu has yet to arrive,” said Song Hyang-keun, president of the institute. “If we can make use of Korean culture in these places, we can expect its popularity to continue.”
The economic value of hallyu-related products, such as TV dramas and pop music, this year could amount to around 12 trillion won ($10.44 billion), a state research survey showed last year. By 2020, it could reach $49.59 billion.
While hallyu started mainly with K-dramas such as “Jewel in the Palace” in the early 2000s, it is currently led by K-pop musicians, mainly boy and girl groups including Super Junior, Big Bang and 2NE1.