Ministry of Science and ICT to Provide Over 20 Billion KRW Support for Broadcasting and Media Content Leading the New Hallyu Wave

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The government is set to provide support worth around 20 billion KRW for broadcasting and media content production to meet the expanded content demand driven by the spread of 5G and the normalization of non-face-to-face interactions.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 21st that starting from the 22nd, it will open the 2021 production support project aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of domestic broadcasting and media content. This support project is divided into the broadcasting program production support project and the next-generation broadcasting growth foundation project, with the support scale expanded from 18.9 billion KRW last year to 21.2 billion KRW this year.

This year’s broadcasting program production support project newly establishes a special new category for online video services (OTT), expanding support for short-form (short videos) and cross-media content production suitable for OTT distribution. The support fund has increased from 3.4 billion KRW last year to 5.1 billion KRW this year.

In addition, a total of 15.4 billion KRW will be provided across four categories: overseas expansion type for attracting foreign investment and sales, public interest type supporting documentaries and educational programs, and broadcasting and telecommunications cooperation agreement implementation supporting co-productions with 38 agreement countries.

In the next-generation broadcasting growth foundation project, a new premium content category for New Hallyu will be established to secure excellent domestic content intellectual property rights (IP), supporting high-quality large-scale projects that can create international resonance. The maximum annual support per project is planned to be 1 billion KRW, guaranteed for up to three years.

Additionally, a total of 5.75 billion KRW will be provided across three categories, including ultra-high-definition content supporting various genres of 4K and 8K content, and experimental challenge-type content with creative planning utilizing information and communication technology (ICT) innovative technologies.

Oh Yong-soo, Broadcasting Promotion Policy Officer at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “Last year, through this project, the supported work won the Best Documentary Award at the Moscow International Film Festival, confirming the excellence of domestic broadcasting content. This year, we expect many new types of content with international competitiveness to be nurtured in a greatly changed environment due to COVID-19 and the spread of new technologies, leading the New Hallyu on the global stage.”

The project briefing session for this year’s production support project will be held on the 1st of next month through online non-face-to-face platforms such as YouTube and KakaoTV, and applications will be accepted from the 15th of next month via the e-Naradoom system.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.