At the K-Content Expo 2018 in Bangkok, I had the pleasure of meeting with numerous startups and organizations in the Korean creative industry in sectors ranging from character licensing, VR, EdTech, film production, broadcasting, comics, video games, and animation. Throughout the two meeting-filled days I learned about the opportunities and challenges facing this industry both in Korea and around the globe.
Everyone I met with cited the opportunity for novel Korean content and entertainment to spread to other countries in Asia that have not yet been fully exposed to it. Many particularly noted Indonesia as a promising region to target due to its very large and digitally savvy population. Although there was widespread optimism about expanding to adjacent regions, content creators emphasized the importance of finding the right local partners in order to ensure successful distribution and adoption. It was clear to me that the consumer media preferences in Korea were quite different than in other regions and that the type of content that has been successful there may not necessarily be elsewhere. As a result, all of the companies were very keen on understanding the local preferences of each of these adjacent regions thoroughly before taking action.
It will be interesting to see how the Korean creative industry develops going forward — I will certainly be keeping an eye on it. I am grateful to have been able to meet the extraordinary companies and people at the K-Content Expo, and look forward to keeping in touch in the future. I would like to thank KOCCA for hosting and inviting me to such a rewarding event.
KOCCA is a government agency under the MCST, supporting the advancement of creative industry in Korea, which encourages global business and enhances cultural exchanges, MCST and KOCCA hold the K-Content EXPO around the world yearly.
