Culture ministry vows to boost OTT industry
Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Bo-gyoon / Korea Times file
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The government will provide financial, systematic and infrastructural support to boost production of dramas and films for over-the-top (OTT) platforms, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Thursday.
The plan, which is a part of the ministry's key policy directives for 2023, comes with an aim to solidify Korea's reputation as a cultural powerhouse.
Under the scheme, the ministry plans to increase its fiscal spending on Korean cultural content, especially that to be released on OTT. It will offer 45.4 billion won ($35.7 million) in financial support to productions making films and dramas for OTT services, and another 30 billion won for post-production work such as subtitling and dubbing.
It plans to introduce a self-rating system for streaming services in March so the platforms can reduce the time needed to circulate new releases and respond quickly to fast changes in global audiences' demand. A relevant law was passed at the National Assembly last September.
As to infrastructure, the government plans to invest 147 billion won by 2025 in creating a cluster of special effects companies and 66 billion won by 2025 to set up a large-scale studio in Busan.
The content industry has become a major sector of the country's exports, accounting for a total $12.4 billion in 2021, which outpaced home appliances ($8.6 billion) and displays ($3.6 billion), according to the ministry.
Through these support measures, the ministry aims to raise the annual exports of cultural content to $15 billion by 2023 and $22 billion by 2027.
A recent survey of 5,100 adults conducted by Gallup Korea showed that Koreans take great pride in their culture. About 66 percent of respondents said Korea is a developed nation when it comes to culture.
In an effort to boost tourism, the government designated 2023 as Visit Korea Year and plans to converge cultural and tourism industries. According to a 2021 survey of potential travelers to Korea, the top reason for visiting Korea was to have cultural experiences.
It will hold 100 cultural events in collaboration with the private sector. The planned events include K-pop concerts including a major one in Incheon, the Frieze Seoul art fair and the 2023 Suncheon International Garden Expo. The government looks to increase the annual number of foreign visitors to 10 million this year and 30 million by 2027.
The government also promised to expand international exchange of Korean art and promote Korean literary works abroad. It will nurture art fairs and improve the art ecosystem by promoting emerging artists. It plans to expand KLWAVE, a centralized platform for the translation, publishing and cultural exchange of Korean literature.
“BTS member Jungkook's performance of the song 'Dreamers' at the opening ceremony of the Qatar World Cup was the scene to showcase Korean cultural content's global status,” Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Bo-gyoon said. “In 2023, we'll take the lead in making Korea one of the world's top culturally attractive countries.”