Tourists visit the Alpensia Ski Jump Center before the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in January 2018. (Korea.net DB)
By Xu Aiying and Hahm Hee-eun
The Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) released its “Hallyu Impact Research Report 2017” on May 17 that looks at the growing popularity of Korean cultural products in East Asia and elsewhere. The report said that 2017 exports of Korean music, TV shows, video games, movies and related material were worth some USD 8.2 billion, which is 6.9 percent higher than such exports in 2016.
The report has its own “Hallyu Index” to measure such cultural exports and the impact of those exports back home on the domestic economy. It conducted a survey of 7,800 people in 16 countries, and used Korean export reports from 14 domestic industries.
Among the export categories, “art and cultural content” exports in 2017 were worth USD 3.8 billion, 18.7 percent higher than such exports in 2016. The largest single export category was video games, worth some USD $2.3 billion, and the highest year-on-year increase was seen in the broadcasting (57.1 percent) and music (21.2 percent) categories.
The report said that, “Large events, like the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, helped to form a more positive image of Korea. Cultural product exports have reached a mid-growth stage, after recently seeing rapid growth. This is a good sign that Korean cultural product exports are increasing to many different parts of the world.”
xuaiy@korea.kr
