Focusing on Fostering K-Culture for 'Cultural Powerhouse' Leap… Aiming for 40 Million Inbound Tourists

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that in the second half of this year, it will strengthen support for artists and expand infrastructure to prepare for an era of 40 million inbound tourists, aiming to foster the K-culture industry.

During the second-half work report held at the Blue House this afternoon, the Ministry reported its vision and strategy to leap into an "irreplaceable cultural powerhouse," centered around six key tasks containing these details.

The Ministry presented six key tasks: ▲ strengthening the foundation of a cultural powerhouse; ▲ intensively fostering the K-culture industry as an economic growth engine; ▲ innovating regional settlement conditions through culture, sports, and tourism; ▲ achieving 40 million K-tourism visitors; ▲ K-sports enjoyed together by all citizens; and ▲ innovating citizen-centric policy communication.

◇ Intensively Fostering K-Culture Industry… Strengthening Support for Artists and Improving Creation Environments The Ministry set the cultivation and global expansion of the K-culture industry as core keywords for its second-half policies, deciding to strengthen support such as policy financing for cultural artists and actively improve creation environments, including expanding social insurance.

Regarding the holdback system—which sets a grace period before films move from theatrical release to other distribution channels like OTT platforms—the Ministry stated that final discussions with the film industry are in the final stages and a final decision on its introduction will be made this month.

Regarding the rehabilitation procedure issue of Megabox, which has emerged as a major film industry concern, the Ministry decided to provide indirect support rather than direct assistance, such as lending operational funds to affected businesses and supporting bond filings.

Tourism policies for the second half of this year focus on preparing for the "era of 40 million inbound tourists."

The Ministry plans to focus on expanding tourism infrastructure such as airports, ports, and accommodations, while also lowering entry barriers for foreign tourists by expanding multi-entry visas and visa-free entries for group tours.

It also plans to create tourism routes centered around five regional airports and develop products linked to K-content.

To innovate the sports sector, the Ministry has formulated sports policies based on fairness and common sense, including operating a K-soccer innovation committee, improving election systems for sports organizations, and strengthening sports ethics.

Additionally, it plans to create an environment where all citizens can enjoy sports by expanding the foundation for grassroots sports, building and renovating public sports facilities, and providing customized programs tailored to different life cycles.

The Ministry will pursue various policies to expand citizen participation in the policy communication process and establish a new national brand reflecting South Korea's status and the spectrum of K-culture.

Minister Choi stated, "In the second half, we will fully create tangible results that citizens can experience," adding, "We will swiftly push forward with key tasks so that culture adds vitality to regional lives and K-culture expands into a broader world, thereby realizing an 'irreplaceable cultural powerhouse.'"

(Photo provided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.