Culture Ministry to promote content `wave`

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said yesterday that in 2007 it will place top priority on nurturing the fast-evolving content business and redefining "hallyu," or the Korean Wave.

"We undertook various projects last year, but they were not well received by the public due to the game machine scandal. This year, our ministry will try to shed its tainted image and implement new projects with renewed enthusiasm," Culture Minister Kim Myung-gon said at a news conference in Seoul.

The ministry got embroiled in the so-called "Sea Story" scandal in 2006 that involved influence peddling and a number of gambling arcades sprouting up in residential districts.

Kim said the ministry will focus on the most important issues in the country`s culture sector: preparing for sweeping changes that spark content- and imagination-oriented innovation, and globalizing the Korean Wave further while minimizing side effects.

Korea is leading in select high-tech sectors, especially mobile and internet communications, but is lagging behind in high value added businesses that involve original digital content.

To address the issue, the Culture Ministry and the Information Ministry have teamed up to set aside 19.2 billion won ($20.55 million) to develop "Digital Creature" technologies - referring to cultural products that are created through purely digital solutions.

The Culture Ministry also plans to set up a one-stop service center aimed at offering support for content development, while helping kick-start the thriving UCC, or user-created content, business.

Kim stressed that the country needs "new hallyu" that is more interactive than the current one dependent on a narrow mass entertainment. "The ministry will take steps to ensure that the Korean Wave will spread to other areas so that non-Koreans will have deeper understanding of Korean products, Korean language, lifestyle and traditional culture," he said.

This year, the ministry will set up and run a host of Sejong centers overseas, offering Korean language classes to foreigners interested in Korea. In March, Korea`s new tourism slogan, "Korea, Sparkling," will be launched to help spur the sagging inbound tourism industry.

Asked about the concern in the nationalistic element of the Korean Wave, the minister said it is dangerous to adopt an idea of dominance. "Hallyu dominating other foreign cultures is a very limited idea. But this does not mean that we should refrain from making efforts to introduce our own culture as accurately as possible," he said.

The Korean Wave, which depends largely on pop culture led by trendy television dramas, movies and music, is facing growing challenges in Asia and elsewhere. In some Asian countries, a so-called "anti-hallyu" sentiment is being detected.

Asked about the deteriorating market conditions facing local filmmakers, Kim said the ministry will continue to implement previously planned projects aimed at supporting the sector rather than adding new programs.

Local productions and staff members are suffering from the death of new Korean films. Exports of Korean films are also declining, casting a dark cloud over the industry`s overall competitiveness.

"We have mapped out long-term film industry promotion plans through numerous meetings with local filmmakers last year. Things will turn positive once we implement the support programs that will ensure filmmaking diversity, more efficient distribution channels, stronger exports and better staff welfare," Kim said.

(insight@heraldm.com)







By Yang Sung-jin