Seoul’s culture belt ready for creation of killer content

The “culture belt” in Seoul envisioned by the government will enable start-ups to create “killer content” for not only the local market but also overseas, the Culture Ministry said Wednesday.

Consisting of a creative convergence center in Sangam-dong, an academy and a creative venture center, the culture belt is designed to create an ecosystem with a virtuous circle in which start-ups with creative ideas can work with each other as well as with the financial sector to create global content beyond K-pop music.

The convergence center, a private-public partnership launched early this year, is run by CJ E&M and the government, while the Culture Ministry will launch the venture center and the academy in the former headquarters of the Korea Tourism Organization in downtown Seoul by March next year. The academy, which seeks to foster next-generation artists who can use the latest and emerging technologies to create content, will be relocated to the former headquarters of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade in Dongdaemun-gu later next year.

“What we are doing is laying the infrastructure where the creative industry, especially start-ups, can come up with globally competitive content and thrive, like Korea did for the manufacturing industry in the 1960s and ’70s,” said Yoon Tae-yong, deputy minister in charge of the cultural content industry, at a press conference.

“The creative industries will be the key driver of new growth for Korea, which is currently facing limits in economic growth in its traditional manufacturing industries. This cultural infrastructure we are creating will be the core of the government’s creative economy policy and an initiative to boost cultural enrichment.”

The Culture Ministry also stressed that the belt’s main goal was to create jobs for the young by strengthening networks and ties with over 110 regional tech venture and content centers such as those in Busan and Daegu. It estimates that the belt, which will later include the K-Culture Valley in 2017, will create more than 53,000 jobs over the next five years.

“It is not new to hear that the country is facing a serious problem with youth employment. The Culture Ministry is zeroing in on developing a sustainable and virtuous cultural infrastructure for the future generation,” said Yoon.

“Let me remind you that the government will only provide the environment and support such as financial, export and legal consulting with partners in the banking and legal sectors. Our basic policy is one of ‘hands-off,’ allowing the creators and artists to do their work freely.”

The government announced plans last August to establish multipurpose cultural centers, including the K-Culture Valley content theme park, K-Experience traditional art hall and K-pop Concert Halls in Seoul and Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province.

Noting that content created only for the Korean market is no longer competitive, the ministry said works created by start-ups in the centers will get full support for global distribution via Korea’s overseas convergence centers in Los Angeles, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo. It plans to establish two more such centers in New York and Paris early next year.

“Korean start-ups will also have the opportunity to exchange and share ideas with start-ups in France and the U.S. through bilateral venture programs,” Yoon said.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)