Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon announced the ‘Major Policy Promotion Plan for 2024’ on June 6, which includes cultural folklore policies and strategies for K-culture’s overseas expansion.
The ministry selected this year’s priority tasks with the vision of ‘a happy society with culture and a global cultural powerhouse led by K-culture’. It aims to raise the national leisure satisfaction rate from 60.7 percent last year to 65 percent this year, and increase the revenue of the K-content industry from 150 trillion won in 2022 to 170 trillion won this year. It also plans to expand the number of tourists visiting Korea from 11.03 million last year to 20 million this year.
First, the government will promote cultural public welfare policies to ease the burden of people’s leisure expenses amid high inflation and interest rates. Starting at the end of next month, 160,000 young people under the age of 19 will receive up to 150,000 won per person to attend performances and exhibitions.
The per capita subsidy for the integrated cultural voucher (Culture Nuri Card) for 2.58 million low-income people will be raised from 110,000 won to 130,000 won per year. It will support up to 150,000 workers’ vacation expenses and distribute up to 450,000 accommodation vouchers. ‘Travel Month’ will be expanded from once a year to twice a year to provide discounts on transportation and accommodation.
Expand the number of certifiable facilities and used places to provide incentives of up to 50,000 won per person for exercising. Support for sports class vouchers will be increased to 120,000 low-income infants and adolescents by 100,000 won per month and 20,000 people with disabilities by 110,000 won per month. The cultural expense income deduction, which is applied to books, performances, and movie tickets, will also be expanded to include online video service (OTT) subscription fees and sports facility fees.
The plan is to solve problems such as local extinction and social isolation through culture. It will consult 13 ‘Korea Culture Cities,’ a model for regional urban development, and expand the development and promotion of ‘Local 100’ travel products to encourage local visits. It will provide 40 billion won in new support for performances and exhibitions tailored to each region, and foster around 10 new representative arts organizations.
The ministry will also strengthen support for the creation of cultural works and overseas expansion. It will expand overseas expansion of opera and ballet and support for overseas distribution of musicals, art, literature, and crafts. It will support the creation of representative artists and works by repertoryizing excellent works, strengthening support for each stage of ‘creation, distribution, and overseas expansion,’ and expanding multi-year support.
Starting with the breaking dance performance adopted as the first official event at the Paris Olympics in May, the program will continue with local performances by national arts organizations, including a joint performance of the National Choir, Opera Company, and Symphony Orchestra’s creative opera “Cheoyong” in June, and the National Ballet’s gala performance and the National Contemporary Dance Company’s “Jungle – Sensation and Response” in July.
In June, Korea Tourism Roadshow will be held, ‘K-Book’ exhibition will be held in August and September, and Korea House, which will be operated during the Olympic Games, will promote Korean culture and tourism.
In the K-content sector, which has transformed Korea’s export landscape, a total of 1.74 trillion won in policy finance will be provided this year to revitalize investment. Among them, the K-Content Strategy Fund, which is contingent on securing intellectual property (IP), will be newly established with a capacity of 600 billion won.
In the first half of the year, the government will establish a strategy for the second phase of the content industry, focusing on core contents such as games, videos, comics and webtoons. Establish a comprehensive plan for the promotion of the game industry (2024~2028) next month, and release information on probabilistic items the same month. Starting this year, the government will gradually transfer the authority of game product classification to the private sector and improve classification standards.
Mandate a holdback period (a grace period before a theatrical film is distributed to other platforms) when investing in a parent fund’s film account, and reach a consensus with the film industry on issues such as holdbacks and audience prices.
In the webtoon sector, the existing Cartoon Promotion Act will be completely revised to the ‘Act on the Promotion of Manga and Webtoon Industry’. A separate identification system for webtoon distribution management will be introduced, and a plan to exclude webtoons from the book price system through amendments to the Publishing and Cultural Industry Promotion Act will be promoted.
In addition, it will increase the number of content overseas business centers by 10 to 25 in the first half of the year and establish a new corporate support center in Japan. In May, the Korea Center in New York will open, and Korean Cultural Centers in Malaysia and the Czech Republic will be established by next year.
By converging cultural and tourism resources, the government aims to attract 20 million tourists this year.
In June, the Korea Beauty Festival will be held in Gwanghwamun, Gangnam, Myeongdong, and Seongsu, combining beauty, fashion, and medicine. In October, the Korea Performing Arts Festival (tentative name) will foster a representative brand festival for the performing arts sector, linking the ‘Welcome University Road Festival’ with the ‘Seoul International Arts Festival’ and ‘Seoul Art Market’. It will also promote bicycle travel using the nation’s bicycle trails and walking with the opening of all sections of the Korea Ring Road next month.
Furthermore, it will support K-content, which has changed the landscape of Korean exports with its content exports exceeding those of secondary batteries and home appliances ($13.24 billion as of 2022) and the effect of shared growth in related industries, to become a leader in the global market. To revitalize content investment and lay the foundation for global content production, the government will provide policy financing totaling 1.74 trillion won this year, including a new private sector-focused K-content strategy fund that is contingent on securing intellectual property (IP).
Minister Yoo In-chon said, “We will mobilize all our policy capabilities to make 2024 a year in which culture enriches people’s daily lives and the lives of local communities, and Korea’s position as a global cultural powerhouse through the leap forward of the culture, sports, and tourism industries.”
