Minister Kim Jongdeok of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announces steps on cultural enrichment on Aug. 18.

Hallyu is at the rage across the world. (Photos:MSCT)

A  multi-purpose hallyu (Korean Wave) cultural center called K-Experience will be set up as a place in which people can experience traditional Korean culture at the site of the former U.S. Embassy Dormitory beside Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul. The Olympic Gymnastics Stadium in Bangi-dong, southeastern Seoul, will be remodeled into a 1,500-seat K-Pop performance arena.

Minister Kim Jongdeok of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) announced these and other measures on the direction and action plans on cultural enrichment, to be implemented during the second half of the Park Geun-hye government at a news conference at the Seoul Government Complex on Aug. 18. The K-Experience center and the K-Pop performance arena will be part of the government’s efforts to promote cultural prosperity, a national agenda, during the second half term. 

MCST Minister Kim described the big picture of cultural prosperity as the industrialization of creative culture convergence belts, the rediscovering of cultural heritage and the creation of new values, creeping culture into life, and expanding hallyu culture and cultural spheres. Hanjin Business Group and MCST will jointly set up the K-Experience Center with four to five floors and three basement floors on the 36,000 square meter site. The first phase will be completed by 2017. Korea Air cancelled its original plan to build a seven-star hotel in the face of strong opposition, and instead decided to build the K-Experience Center. 

The Olympic Gymnastics Stadium will be remodeled into a hallyu music content hub. The K-Pop performance center will be outfitted with a steel structure roof, changeable stages, an improved sound system and better lighting facilities. Its design will be done by next year, and it will be dedicated by 2017.

The so-called K-Culture Valley will be built as a creative culture convergence belt for hallyu content motifs in Goyang City, north of Seoul. Hallyu experience-oriented content park and multidisciplinary convergence performance halls will be established there. Projects to build entertainment facilities, shopping space and multi-purpose commercial buildings connected with a hotel will break ground next February, and completion is slated for 2017. The urban K-Culture Valley, covering the K-Experience Center in Songhyeon-dong, will emerge as Korea’s new landmark of cultural experience tourism. The development of the Songhyeong-dong site is required to obtain the go-ahead from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. 

Come November, a Creative Culture Venture Complex will be opened in the former Korea Tourism Organization building to accommodate and support 140 companies in cultural content fields. Forty venture companies and 100 smaller start-up firms will be selected as tenants in a public contest. Tenant companies will stay for at least two years to a maximum of four years free of rent, and will enjoy a 50 percent discount on maintenance costs. A one-stop support system designed to provide such support as legal counseling, investment and overseas market exploration will be in place. 

The ministry plans to promote Seoul as locations of filming blockbusters and dramas as part of efforts to attract foreign tourists. It is seeking to give a reduction in such taxes as the corporate tax in the case of filming foreign videos in Korea. The central and local governments have decided to collaborate in such areas ranging from video content planning to selection of products and supporting of filming.