Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to Promote 'Publishing Hallyu'... IP Support Center and Book Curator Training

Strengthening the Capacity of Dedicated Agencies, Revising the Promotion Act, and Supplementing the System
Expanding Publishing Intellectual Property (IP) and Enhancing Related Education Initiatives

On the 6th, as the heatwave rages, citizens are cooling off at the Kyobo Bookstore Gwanghwamun branch in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The government is set to actively promote the expansion of the publishing culture industry through the "K-Publishing" initiative.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 1st the "Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Plan" (2022?2026), outlining support directions for the publishing culture industry over the next five years with the goal of "K-Culture made through books, a culturally attractive nation growing through publishing."

This plan establishes four strategic initiatives and twelve tasks to expand demand and innovate the industrial foundation to enable the growth of the publishing industry. Although the reading population is declining, the Ministry explained that these measures comprehensively consider changes in the overall publishing environment, such as the segmentation of reader preferences and distribution structure changes due to the expansion of online platforms amid COVID-19.

The five-year plan focuses on △ expanding domestic and international demand for publishing as an industry and the publishing market △ revitalizing regional publishing and local bookstores △ expanding and utilizing publishing intellectual property (IP) △ revising the Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Act and supplementing related systems.

Additionally, as part of the "Books for All" strategy, the Ministry will concentrate on expanding public demand and revitalizing the book market. It will support customized cultural activities at local bookstores and launch a new "book curator" training program that recommends books tailored to individual readers. Furthermore, it will promote customized book recommendations and distribution for socially vulnerable groups such as the elderly and multicultural families, while also supporting social reading programs.

Support for overseas exports to expand the K-Publishing wave will also be strengthened. A "Special Publishing Exchange Exhibition" will be held to promote mutual growth among Korea, China, and Japan, and international children's book fairs or picture book award systems will be established utilizing children's books and picture books with high export competitiveness. Domestically, counseling programs for small and medium-sized publishers will be developed, and an integrated export support system will be built through the activation of the representative platform "K-Book."

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Five-Year Plan for the Publishing Culture Industry. Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

In areas where bookstores are disappearing, pilot "small bookstores" in the form of pop-up stores will be operated. Moreover, to enhance transparency and efficiency in publishing distribution, publishing distribution data will be advanced centered on the integrated publishing distribution network system launched in September last year.

Support will also be provided to expand the utilization of publishing intellectual property (IP). A comprehensive support center will be established within the Korea Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Agency to enhance content utilization capabilities through expanded exchanges with workers in other industries. Considering the expansion of the web novel market and its potential to extend into other fields, customized educational programs for web novels and publishing IP will be prepared.

Also, considering the relatively easy startup nature of the publishing industry, the plan includes strengthening incubation centers that provide education, counseling, and infrastructure needed by early-stage resident companies.

A public-private cooperation system will be established for the stable growth of the publishing industry. Furthermore, the Ministry plans to revise systems to enhance the rights and interests of the publishing sector by actively responding to acts that disrupt distribution order, such as hoarding of books, and by revising the Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Act.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official said, "'Books' are core content that have accompanied humanity for a long time," adding, "We will earnestly implement this publishing culture industry promotion plan, which encompasses demand, distribution, startups, and policy, to support the publishing industry as a source of cultural industry and a key industry leading a culturally prosperous nation in various ways."

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