□ The 2019 Hallyu NOW Seminar, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and organized by KOFICE, will be held on December 10 from 1 p.m. at the CREA round hall of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza.

□ At this year’s seminar, themed “2019 Hallyu, coexistence of external expansion and internal wounds,” experts of international cultural exchange and the Korean culture industry will sit down to analyze key Hallyu issues for the year by looking into its problems as well as its successes, and discuss plans for improvement.

In-depth discussions on the external expansion of Hallyu through films (Parasite) and K-pop (BTS and Blackpink) and its internal wounds such as the Burning Sun scandal and tentpole dramas

□ Part 1 of the seminar, subtitled “External expansion of Hallyu led by Parasite, BTS, and Blackpink,” will begin with a report on the results of a survey on Hallyu, and will have film and music industry professionals share their views. Korean Film Archive programmer Chung Min-hwa will give a presentation titled “Parasite wins Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival: Rising artistic value of Hallyu contents;” and Professor Lee Kyu-tak of the liberal arts department of George Mason University Korea will give a talk titled “External expansion of K-pop through BTS and Blackpink and its future.” Cine21 reporter Chang Young-yeop, film critic Chung Ji-wook, popular music critic Kim Yoon-ha, and Studio Maum C producer Ma Joo-hee will take part in the panel discussion.

□ In Part 2, Munhwa Ilbo reporter Ahn Jin-yong will analyze the “diseased areas” of K-pop as exposed by the Burning Sun night club scandal and the rigging of music charts and rankings in audition programs (M-net Produce series). KBS World producer Bae Ki-hyung will give a presentation on the failure of tentpole dramas. Herald Business senior reporter Seo Byung-ki; Professor Sim Sang-min of the media communication department at Sungshin Women’s University; Professor Park Sang-joo of Sungkyunkwan University’s department of film, TV, and multimedia; and Korea Culture and Tourism Institute researcher Lee Sung-min will take part in the panel discussions.

□ KOFICE president Kim Yong-rak notes, “This year’s seminar will analyze the year’s progress and problems of Hallyu from various angles. In addition to analyzing Hallyu issues for the year, we expect to figure out how to redress these problems and how the government can tackle them in a timely manner.”

□ Those who wish to participate in the seminar can do so free of charge by signing up in advance or at the seminar on December 10. More details are available at www.kofice.or.kr.