Minister advocates for reformation in K-culture policy to prevent imminent decline

In a recent address, Chae Hwi-young, the newly appointed Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism in South Korea, highlighted the challenges facing the country's K-pop and film industries.

Chae expressed concern about the chronic shortage of concert venues for K-pop in South Korea, a problem exacerbated by the fact that the country currently has no domes, unlike Japan which boasts five. This shortage has been a point of contention, with Chae stating that it is hindering the growth of K-pop domestically.

In the film industry, the situation is equally dire. The domestic film industry in South Korea produces fewer than 20 local films annually with budgets over 3 billion won. This low number, combined with the fact that the current law only recognizes films if they are screened in theaters, has left many film industry professionals struggling to make a stable living.

Minister Chae also criticized South Korea's culture budget ratio, which ranks in the mid-to-lower tier among OECD countries. He suggested that the culture budget should account for at least 2 percent of total spending in the long run. As a step towards this goal, the culture budget in South Korea will rise 9.2 percent from 8.8 trillion won this year to 9.6 trillion won next year. However, this increase will only inch up the proportion in the government's total budget from 1.31 percent to 1.32 percent.

Chae also emphasized the need to revise the Promotion of the Motion Pictures and Video Products Act to recognize films shown on streaming platforms. This revision, he hopes, will help modernize the industry and provide more opportunities for filmmakers.

Notably, Minister Chae did not mention any specific plans or initiatives to address the budget issues in the cultural sector or to increase the number of concert venues for K-pop in South Korea. He also did not address the issue of investment drying up in the film industry.

The lack of concrete plans has raised concerns about the future of the K-pop and film industries in South Korea. The entire ecosystem of the South Korean film industry is collapsing, with many professionals struggling to find work.

One high-profile example of this struggle is Director Lee Chang-dong, who was forced to return government funding for a new film due to failing to secure additional investment and ultimately took his project to Netflix. Lee's film, "Burning," was the first Korean movie to reach the final nine-film shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.

Despite these challenges, the impact of K-pop and Korean films on the global stage is undeniable. BTS's performance in Busan generated an estimated economic impact of 1.2 trillion won. However, without the infrastructure to hold such concerts regularly, South Korea is missing out on opportunities to capitalize on this success.

As Minister Chae begins his tenure, the focus will be on whether he can deliver on his promises and provide the necessary support to revitalize the K-pop and film industries in South Korea. The search results do not provide specific names of government agencies or institutions involved in increasing the cultural budget and reforming film industry laws in South Korea, but it is clear that action is needed to ensure the future success of these important industries.

Minister advocates for reformation in K-culture policy to prevent imminent decline