Culture Ministry targets 400 trillion won K-Culture market by 2030

South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Aug. 5 set a goal of building a 400 trillion won K-Culture market by 2030, putting cultural industries at the center of its growth strategy.

It also targets $110 billion in K-Culture exports by 2030. Under the strategy, the ministry will expand financial support and pivot from small investments toward strategic backing for large-scale intellectual property and works aimed at overseas markets.

To build K-Culture's international reach, the ministry plans to hold FANOMENON, a large-scale event bringing together K-pop, food and beauty, in December 2027 and establish K-Culture hubs in major cities abroad.

At home, it will strategically place cultural facilities based on regional characteristics and refurbish aging cultural and sports facilities. It also plans to bring programs closer to workers, families and residents through Culture Wednesday and the Our Neighborhood Project.

Tourism measures will focus on easing access for foreign travelers and strengthening region-by-region marketing. Visitor arrivals in the first half rose 21.3 percent from a year earlier.

To support visitor growth outside major destinations, it will create an inbound-tourism route centered on five regional airports, linking entry, accommodation and experiences, and combine it with regional marketing.

Efforts to protect creators include the reassertion of an arm's-length principle on artists' freedom of expression and a dedicated artists' rights office. It said an emergency-blocking system had prompted the country's largest illegal webtoon site to close voluntarily. The ministry will also expand social insurance and financial support for artists with low and unstable incomes.

Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young said, "While we focused on laying the groundwork for recovery and advancement in culture, sports and tourism in the first half of this year, we will begin producing results that people can feel in the second half."