On April 18, former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung announced an ambitious plan to expand South Korea’s cultural and artistic industries, setting a target of 50 trillion KRW (approx. 35.2 billion USD) in cultural exports by 2030 while expanding the domestic cultural and arts market to 300 trillion KRW (approx. 211.5 billion USD).
In a statement shared via Facebook, Lee declared his vision to transform South Korea into a “top five global soft power” by fully supporting the global expansion of K-food, K-beauty, K-pop, K-drama, and K-webtoons. “We will rise as a global cultural powerhouse, entering the Big 5 of global soft power,” he wrote.
Lee emphasized the need to increase government funding for culture, pointing out that the current cultural budget only accounts for 1.33% of total national spending. He pledged a significant boost in support to match the level of a true cultural leader.
His plan includes comprehensive government support for the entire creative process in the K-content industry. This includes fostering K-culture platforms that provide systematic backing from content creation to global distribution.
To strengthen production capabilities, Lee proposed building more virtual studios and public production infrastructure. He also promised to expand incentives such as R&D funding, policy financing, and tax benefits to ensure sustainable growth of the K-content industry.
The webtoon sector will also receive focused support. Lee promised to extend the tax incentives currently available to video content producers to webtoon creators, and to aid small businesses with translation, distribution, and international marketing.
Another key priority is creating an environment where artists can focus solely on creation. Lee plans to expand talent development and support systems, establish specialized organizations, and provide financial and spatial support for creators. He also vowed to combat illegal distribution of content, including international crackdowns on piracy sites.
Lee’s platform includes enhanced support for humanities education and publishing, aiming to foster critical thinking, creativity, and cultural literacy. “We will significantly expand the scale and scope of support for humanities publishing and creation, and promote education that fosters critical thinking, creativity, and a strong grounding in the humanities,” he said.
“Success in Korea now means success on the world stage,” Lee emphasized. “The dream of building a cultural powerhouse that independence activist Kim Gu once envisioned is now within our reach.”
He concluded, “Our predecessors dreamed of a culturally rich nation, and now we have the power to make that dream a reality. The K-content wave created by cultural workers will be lifted even higher with strong state support.”
With K-content already enjoying massive global appeal, Lee’s pledges, if implemented, could usher in a new era where Korean soft power takes center stage on the global cultural map.