Minister Hwang Hee of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST). (Photos: MCST)

Minister Hwang Hee of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) held a meeting with representatives from the travel industry at the Seoul Center of the Korea Tourism Organization on Feb. 16 and discussed ways to recuperate from a crisis, caused by COVID-19.

Minister Hwang said the government would start discussing the introduction of a “travel bubble” system under which quarantine-free travel is allowed for travelers with proof of having tested negative against COVID-19.

A task force, designed to restore tourism demand, will be formed, and how to introduce travel bubble agreement will be discussed in earnest, Minister Hwang said.

Among those on hand at the gathering were Chairman Yoon Young-ho of the Korea Tourism Association, Chairman Oh Chang-hee of the Korea Association of Travel Agents, Chairman Park Byung-ryong of the Korea Casino Association, and Chairman Kim Chun-chu of Korea MICE Association.

Regarding the possibility of introducing a travel bubble system, Minister Hwang said his ministry plans to discuss a proposal involving reducing the 14-day isolation period with related ministries, including the Foreign Ministry, and introducing a “quarantine passport” through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, a quick and reliable test for COVID-19, he said.

In a related development, MCST formed a task force designed to restore the inbound tourism industry and held an inaugural meeting at the second integrated government complex of Incheon International Airport in Incheon on March 3.

The task force, consisting of officials from MCST and related ministries, travel industries and experts, meets once or twice every month to discuss ways to recuperate severe damage that the travel industry sustained in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and restore the inbound travel industry.

MCST Minister Hwang, along with representatives from Korea Travel Association, other related travel organizations, officials from both the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Incheon International Airport, Korean Air and other businesses participated in the inaugural meeting and had candid discussions.

Korea Culture & Tourism Institute (KCTI) gave a presentation on matters related to a travel bubble system and quarantine-free passports.

Minister Hwang Hee of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) meets with representatives from the travel industry at the Seoul Center of the Korea Tourism Organization on Feb. 16 to discuss ways to recuperate from a crisis, caused by COVID-19.

KOCCA Aggressively Nurtures Manpower to Lead Future Content Industry

MCST and Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) are nurturing creative and gifted manpower to lead the future content industry.

The 2021 projects are tailored to meet the need of the content industry, which should help to fix a mismatch between the content industry and job seekers.

The projects are designed to nurture AI content manpower in keeping with new technology trends.

KOCCA is inviting 15 forty-three institutions by March to participate in its three projects - Content Creative Manpower Shared Growth Project, Content One-Campus Buildup Project, and Real Content Creator Nurture Project.

The Content Creative Manpower Shared Growth Project, which made its debut in 2012, is one of KOCCA’s representative content manpower nurture projects.

The project involves a close apprentice mentoring matching experts of each field and would-be content producers. Under the project, KOCCA plans to select about 17 content institutions.

A total of 420 would-be creative content producers will benefit from the 2021 project.