{"id":41840,"date":"2026-06-04T18:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/41840\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T18:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:32:12","slug":"k-culture-beyond-worthlessness-time-to-design-the-forest-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/41840\/","title":{"rendered":"K-Culture Beyond Worthlessness: Time to Design the Forest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AA concert performance by Hanroro, a 24th-generation member of “Tune Up,” which received CJ Cultural Foundation’s large-scale performance support. \/Photo courtesy of Authentic<\/p>\n

Jung Min-jung, Culture Desk Editor<\/p>\n

The original musical “Hongryeon,” staged after being selected for CJ Cultural Foundation’s musical support program “Stage Up.” \/Photo courtesy of Martin Entertainment<\/p>\n

On the 8th of last month, a scene familiar to Koreans appeared on NBC’s late-night talk show “The Tonight Show.” Korean-American actor Daniel Dae Kim balanced a pair of chopsticks across the rim of a beer glass, placed a shot glass of soju on top, and struck the table, dropping the soju glass into the beer. It was the so-called “somaek.” Host Jimmy Fallon was amazed, and “cheers” and “one shot” soon followed. Daniel Dae Kim said, “When I was young, being Korean was not embraced as ‘cool’ the way it is now, but it has completely changed.” He added that Korean culture has become a “phenomenon.” The “K” that, just a few years ago, required awkward explanation has itself become a shining cultural asset.<\/p>\n

K-culture has expanded beyond the boundaries of genre. Beyond K-pop and K-literature, extending to beauty, food, fashion and tourism, Korean culture no longer remains confined to the achievement of individual industries. It has become a taste, a way of life, and a language of sensibility shared by young generations around the world. This is truly the era of “K-Everything.”<\/p>\n

It is for this reason that CNN highlighted the secret of K-culture’s success through a documentary of the same name. Above all, the power of Korean storytelling is great. Korean culture is layered with the turbulent modern history, the shadows of compressed growth, competition and alienation, and memories of wounds and recovery. Because the grain of time spent enduring and ultimately rising again is imprinted in the content, it resonates broadly across races and generations. The foundation that made this work as an industry cannot be overlooked either. Music had audition programs and global platforms, and film had long-term investment and the time of patience. Behind the visible stars, there have always been invisible systems and soil.<\/p>\n

CNN took note of the CJ Cultural Foundation, which quietly cultivated that soil. CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun, who laid the foundation’s groundwork in 1996 with a personal contribution of 1 billion won, said, “My goal is for people around the world to watch a Korean film every year, eat Korean food every month, watch a Korean drama every week, and listen to Korean music every day, freely enjoying Korean culture in their daily lives.” Even before establishing the foundation, in 1995, he had already foreseen the potential of K-culture. The belief of late founding chairman Lee Byung-chull, conveyed by Vice Chairman Miky Lee, that “true national competitiveness arises when the power of culture combines with industry,” became the root of that vision. Through music’s “Tune Up,” film’s “Story Up,” and musicals’ “Stage Up,” the foundation extended its hand to unknown creators. Musicians such as Car, the garden and Hanroro grew, independent films were named at international film festivals, and original musicals met audiences on stage.<\/p>\n

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If a creator’s talent is the seed, then industry is the soil and the ecosystem is the seasons. No matter how good the seed, if the soil is barren and the seasons do not allow it, a forest cannot grow. Today’s K-culture is the achievement of a forest carefully tended and shaped by soil and seasons.<\/p>\n

The key is whether that forest can be protected. The government recently unveiled a blueprint to broaden the scope of K-culture beyond content and the arts industry to include fashion, food and tourism, raising the market size projected for 2030 from the original 300 trillion won to 400 trillion won. But the mood on the ground is cold. The film industry’s ecosystem itself is shaking due to shrinking investment, and cultural infrastructure, including K-pop performance venues, is woefully insufficient to meet demand. Support for creators remains meager, and practical mechanisms such as tax incentives are not sufficient either. This is not a problem that can be solved by the support and goodwill of some private companies or local governments alone. The government must establish mid-to-long-term plans and move strategically. It must meticulously design the entire cultural ecosystem, from production incentives and support for small and mid-sized production companies, to expanding translation and distribution networks, and nurturing new creators.<\/p>\n

In the drama “Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness,” which recently ended leaving a weighty resonance, Hwang Dong-man (played by Koo Kyo-hwan) finally makes his first film and even wins the Best New Director award. Behind Hwang Dong-man was producer Byun Eun-ah (played by Go Youn-jung), who believed in and supported his potential to the very end. To become someone like Byun Eun-ah for the countless Hwang Dong-mans of Korea who, even at this very moment, are fighting their own worthlessness and enduring day by day\u2014perhaps that is the proper role and the realistic promise of the government for the revival of K-culture. We hope the government becomes a helper that builds a solid ecosystem and supports it to the end, so that more Hwang Dong-mans can meet the world through their own works.<\/p>\n

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