S. Korea to increase gov't support for broadcasting industry to nurture next 'Squid Game'

SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will render full-scale support to the broadcasting industry so it can produce more global megahits, such as "Squid Game" and "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," the government said Tuesday. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced a mid- and long-term plan aimed at growing the market from 22.8 trillion won (US$18 billion) in 2021 to about 30 trillion won by 2027 in terms of sales. Under the 2023-2027 plan, the ministry plans to increase its funding for dramas on streaming services, also known as over-the-top (OTT) services, to 45.4 billion won. The government used 9.4 billion won to fund nine drama series (maximum 1.4 billion won each) this year, and the funding will increase to 39 billion won for 18 series (maximum 3 billion won each) next year. The government support for non-drama series will rise from 2 billion won to 6 billion won. The government will also introduce a system allowing streaming services to provide age ratings on all their content in March, so they can flexibly respond to the fast-changing media environment. A relevant law passed through parliament in September. The plan, the sixth of its kind, was announced at the CJ ENM Studio Center, a state-of-the-art production studio complex in Paju, 28 kilometers north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, with some 30 leading figures from the industry attending. "Korean cultural content emerged as a new leader in the country's exports," Jeon Byung-geuk, first vice culture minister, said during the event. "We have come up with specific strategies to make broadcasting content a game changer in the exports market in the next five years by taking advantage of the opportunity factors and overcoming crisis factors." As a measure to help minor productions alleviate a shortage of manpower amid the global boom of the streaming services, the government will invest 1.9 billion won in programs to cultivate professionals at a graduate school specializing in streaming services and their content, and 5.7 billion won in a job-training academy for prospective creators of cultural content using new technologies. Amid the mounting criticism over Netflix's monopoly of the intellectual property rights of its hugely successful South Korean original series "Squid Game," the government will also make efforts to help local productions reduce their financial dependency on global content titans. Unlike the case of the Netflix show, Astory, the Korean production studio behind the hit legal drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," has the show's IP rights. The ministry plans to support the mutual growth of local production studios and streaming platforms by encouraging them to share the IP rights of their original series and studios to give priority to the domestic platforms to show their shows. Improving infrastructure for the production of OTT dramas is also part of the plan. The government said it will complete a multipurpose indoor studio available for shooting on the water at the state-run Studio Cube, the country's largest filming studio complex located in the central city of Daejeon, in the first half of next year and install blue screens in all studios there. It will also build public virtual production studios equipped with LED walls and in-camera VFX at Studio Cube and two similar facilities in Seoul for use by small and minor production companies. sshim@yna.co.kr (END)