K Culture Strategy Report
Advice for Strengthening Content Competitiveness and Distribution Network
사진 확대 Proposed three key policy tasks for sustainable growth of K-culture. Korea Business Association
In order for “K Culture” to become a sustainable growth engine supporting the Korean economy, it was suggested that it should strengthen its content competitiveness and reorganize its production, distribution, and policy systems, such as building “Korean Hollywood.”
On the 23rd, the Korea Business Association presented three key tasks in a report titled “K Culture’s Industrial Growth and Global Spread Strategy” commissioned by Shim Sang-min, a professor of media communication at Sungshin Women’s University.
The report diagnosed that although K Culture continues to be a global hit, it faces structural limitations across internal system, industry connection, and policy support.
Internally, it is difficult to secure large source intellectual property rights (IPs) due to the absence of clusters and small capital power, and there is a growing risk of becoming a “simple subcontract base” as it is subordinate to global online video services (OTTs) that dominate the distribution network.
He pointed out that the disconnection of links between industries, where the popularity of K-culture does not spread to exports from general manufacturing or small and medium-sized enterprises, is also an obstacle.
The report suggested that strengthening content competitiveness, global spread, and establishing a policy foundation should be the three key policy tasks to develop the global success of K Culture into a sustainable national growth engine rather than a temporary trend.
As a way to strengthen content competitiveness, it was suggested that a K-culture cluster should be created with creators, production companies, investors, distribution companies, and related service companies to create the “Korean version of Hollywood.” The goal is to create an open content industry ecosystem where content planning, production, investment, distribution, and IP commercialization are organically carried out within the cluster like Hollywood in the U.S.
Regarding the global spread, he stressed the need to establish a system that integrates quality, branding, supply chain, and distribution beyond support centered on product exports. It also proposed a B2B food material distribution system that connects exporters, producers, logistics companies, and local distribution networks to stably supply domestic food ingredients to overseas Korean restaurants, hotels and distributors.
He also emphasized the establishment of a pan-government promotion system by enacting the Framework Act on Service Industry Development and systematizing R&D and tax and financial support. Professor Shim added, “We need to introduce the same level of ‘K Culture Pass’ as France’s culture and arts voucher policy, ‘Culture Pass’, to help young people abroad who stay in Korea for a long time experience K Culture and expand their global base.”