Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Aim for Overseas Expansion Riding the Korean Wave

Government's Hallyu Marketing Support Project in Full Swing
Support for Indirect Advertising and Promotions in K-Content

Products from small and micro enterprises are expanding overseas riding the wave of Hallyu content. On the 29th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it will carry out a Hallyu marketing support project in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Creative Content Agency, and the Small Enterprise and Market Service. This program supports promotion and marketing by indirectly advertising cultural content, agricultural products, and seafood in popular K-content such as dramas and variety shows overseas. The project has been actively pursued since last year, recognizing the significant economic ripple effect that Hallyu content has on the export of consumer goods industries. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official said, "Small and micro enterprises lack information and funds for overseas expansion, making it difficult to link with Hallyu content. Through the Hallyu marketing project, we aim to drive overseas expansion by supporting indirect advertising, overseas sales promotion (exhibitions and promotional booths), and online and offline promotions."

Double-sided magnifying mirror revealed through the drama 'Yeolnyeo Bakssi Gyeyak Gyeolhon-dyeon'

The supported products include forty items in total: ten cultural and content products such as board games, character goods, and crafts; ten agricultural products such as kimchi, ssamjang, and tteokbokki; ten seafood products such as gim (seaweed), salt, and myeongranjeot (pollock roe); and ten Brand K items such as cosmetics, ultrasonic exercise devices, and thermometers. These products were exposed in the form of product placement (PPL) in dramas like "My Demon," "Yeolnyeo Bakssi Gyeyak Gyeolhonjeon," "Maestra," and "Chaebol × Detective," tailored to the characteristics of each product. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official explained, "We connected mainly with programs aired on overseas online video services (OTT) such as Netflix and Viu, as well as local channels." He added, "We plan to diversify promotional marketing methods by producing web dramas and variety shows that link product promotion and sales from the planning stage."

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