“Culture meets industry – the case of Korea, Hallyu,” a session at the 2018 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank organized by the host country, Korea, in Busan, took place on Thursday May 24.
Hallyu, or Korean culture (music, TV series, cinema, games) has been spreading swiftly since the early 1990s. Could it be a model that inspires Africa?
Gin Ho-yon, Korean Tourist Office Director spoke proudly of Hallyu’s international presence. “Thanks to this model, we are present in 87 countries worldwide, especially in Africa.”
Pop culture and tourism
Korean TV series are enormously successful, especially those that deal with love, family or filial devotion – violence and sex are rarely mentioned. At the same time as they entertain, the series also promote Korean cuisine, fashion, theatre, cosmetic tourism, etc.
Gin Ho-yon explained, “At the end of 2016, exports of our cultural products earned KRW 5.2 billion (US $4.7 million) and recorded 3.3 million visitors to the country. The Korean wave has created an attractive image of Korea abroad and has made lots of people keen to come here.” The Korean Tourist Office supports film production and the tourist industry in general and Korean pop culture has made the Land of Morning Calm a serious tourist destination.
“We are used to seeing foreigners in the streets taking photos wearing our clothing. Because we are constantly presenting our culture to foreigners and awaken their interest in it this way.”
Korean films in Chinese, Spanish or Portuguese
Global Business Development CJ E and M is a production company whose head, Joesong Lee, described the aspirations of Korean cinema, which is working to penetrate global markets and to be a major player. The Korean recipe? Export yourself and adapt to the target market. “We make films and present shows in Korea and abroad. To conquer more markets, we even make Spanish and Portuguese versions of some of our films,” he said.
The Korean film industry is also seeking regional collaboration with other Asian countries. Joesong Lee explained, “We produce original content with major world actors, working with a studio in Vietnam, and also in Thailand. In China, the United States and Japan, we are involved in operating television channels.
K-pop, Korean pop music, is another great export success. Its stars attract hundreds of thousands if not millions of fans (recall Gangnam Style) through social networks and broadcast video loops. There have also been K-pop festivals abroad. “We have the KCON Festival in six countries. This year, we will be in New York. After that, it will be the Mama Music Festival that attracts 125 million TV viewers,” said Lee.
FNC Entertainment Agency was created in November 2006 and has grown non-stop ever since. Senior manager Kim Yon-shik described the successful approach, “We were tiny, but today we have joint ventures in Japan. We are targeting the North American market, as well as the South American and African markets in general. We are a model of success. We do training and casting in Korea and Japan. Our films have even gone as far as the Philippines. We promote aspiring actors and turn them into stars. We also recruit in China to make them real actors. We hope that tomorrow we will be in Africa, where there is enormous cultural potential.”
