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‘Hallyu needs the next big thing’

  • Published : Jan 29, 2015 - 17:49
  • Updated : Jan 29, 2015 - 17:49

The popularity of Korean culture and entertainment in some Asian countries, namely pop music and TV dramas, has generated much excitement at home over the past few years. The entire country is intent on figuring out the best way to capitalize on it.

Yet, for the Korean Wave, or “hallyu,” to continue amid the rising tide of cultural protectionism overseas, Korea must create the next big thing in the near future, said the chief of the Korea Creative Content Agency.

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Song Sung-gak, president of KOCCA, speaks at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday. (KOCCA)
“The next three years are crucial. We must come up with big killer content (in order to cement and deepen hallyu),” Song Sung-gak, the president of KOCCA, said at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday.

As a state-run agency dedicated to helping develop local creative industries, KOCCA will lead the way in searching for the next big thing, he stressed.

“Our annual budget is 211 billion won ($200 million), which is about the same amount an automaker spends to develop a new model,” he said. “That’s why we need to be selective in what we spend money on and really concentrate on selective projects deemed more promising,” he added.

When asked to elaborate on “big killer content,” the official gave the example of SMTOWN@coexartium, a five-story complex opened by SM Entertainment, one of the two leading K-pop labels and talent management agencies.

“Watching the hologram musical featuring SM artists there, I thought that (big killer content, whatever the format or genre,) should be something that can be mass-consumed, just like that hologram musical,” he said.

Hallyu started about a decade ago in Japan with a series of megahit soap operas, which soon spread to other Asian countries including China. Now K-pop is at the forefront, with a handful of idol groups enthralling a growing number of global fans with their addictive songs, dashing looks and flashy dance moves.

While stressing the need to further expand hallyu’s global reach, Song admitted that hallyu creators shouldn’t be unrealistic about their chances in the mainstream market in the U.S. or Europe.

“Rather, there are many countries out there where hallyu is not yet established but has a lot of potential for success,” Song said. “We need to devise strategies for such markets.”

Song, 56, took office as chief of the Naju, South Jeolla Province-based agency in December after working more than 30 years in various creative fields, from TV and film to advertising. He will serve for three years.

A former executive of Cheil WorldWide Inc., the advertising arm of Samsung Group, the incoming chief has expertise in visual design and advertising. Since 2008, he has been running a TV ad agency, Mercury Post, in Seoul.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)

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