Ways of international cooperation on cultural content business “The Present & Future of the International Cultural Exchange”

The international conference “Hallyu in Southeast Asia – The Present and Future of the International Cultural exchange” sponsored by Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and co-hosted by KOFICE and the Peace Institute of Hanyang University was held at the National Hangeul Museum on August 23.

This international conference was held to understand the current status of the Hallyu in Southeast Asia, which has emerged as the next in-focus market of the cultural content industry according to recent changes in the international market (particularly, the Chinese ban on Korean content). It was also held to find some ways for cooperation and mutual growth of both regions through Hallyu. For this occasion, experts on cultural content from 5 major Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Myanmar, as well as experts from Korea attended this event.

Seeking ways for cooperation with experts of business, government, and academic industry from Southeast Asia, the next major market for Hallyu

In Part 1 of the conference, Prof. Jin, Dal-yong of Simon Fraser University, Dept. of Communication, explained the history of Hallyu and proposed some insights into its future under the topic of “Global Hallyu.” Next, Abdul Rohim Boi Brawi, Assistant Secretary of Dept. of Education, Research & Development of the Indonesian Committee for Creative Economy, and Prof. Kapiati Kada of Bandung Institute of Technology, Art Design School, discussed the future of cultural content development between Korea and Indonesia.

<Speakers from 5 Southeast Asian countries gathered to talk about the progress of culture exchange between Korea and Southeast Asia>

In Part 2, Prof. Pitipong Yodmongkol of Thailand Chiang Mai University, Media & Technology Dept., and Sirisak Koshpasharin, Director of Thailand National Federation of Motion Pictures, each presented how the Korean culture industry was perceived by the Chiang Mai University students and how Korean cultural content is perceived by the general Thai public. Khin Kyi Pyar, President of the National University of Arts and Culture in Myanmar, and Prof. Ni Ni Myan introduced the current Hallyu status in Myanmar, as well as some ways for cooperation between Korea and Myanmar.

Lastly, in Part 3, Prof. Badrul Hassan National University of Malaysia, Dept. of Humanities & Social Sciences, and Director Paul Augustin (who directed the Penang Island Jazz Festival) presented socio-cultural insights about the Hallyu in Malaysia as well as the current exchange in the music scene between Korea and Malaysia. This was followed by an in-depth discussion on Korean content within the Vietnamese media, led by Prof. Nguyen Thi Hien of Vietnam Ho Chi Minh University, Dept. of Social Science & Anthropology, and Pham Thanh Thuy, a copyright lawyer working for VSTV.

Panel discussions led for each subcommittee (session) was attended by 10 Korean scholars and experts* on culture industry, and they discussed ways for sustainable cultural content cooperation based on trust and collaboration between Korea and Southeast Asian countries.

* Prof. Kim, Sang-hak (Hanyang Univ.), Prof. Seo Ji-won (Changwon Univ.), Lee Jin- Hee (CJ E&M Team Leader), Dr. Lee Jong-im (Sungkyunkwan Univ.), Prof. Kim Jae-ha (Seoul Institute of the Arts), Prof. Jeong Eui-cheol (Sangji Univ.), Prof. Jang Won-ho (University of Seoul), Prof. Lee Gyu-tak (George Mason Univ. Korea), Prof. Ha Joo-yong (Inha Univ.), Kim Il-joong (SBS Global Producing Business Team Producer)

Expectations rise in regard to escaping reliance on China and Japan as well as the start of market diversification for the Korean culture content industry

Kwak Youngjin, Chair of the Korea Foundation for International culture Exchange, said, “This conference was hosted in order to find new allies for cultural cooperation because prospects for China – which has been the major export market for Korean culture industry – have become unclear. We hope that this in-depth discussion between 5 Southeast Asian countries and Korean experts aids the government and experts of the academic & business field who wish to start cultural exchange between Korea and Southeast Asia.”