Ministry belatedly deals with China’s ban on Korean culture

Ministry belatedly deals with China’s ban on Korean culture. March. 14, 2017 07:15. by Jeong-Eun Kim kimje@donga.com.

As China strengthened a ban on Korean culture, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry created a task force led by Acting Culture Minister Song Soo-keun to deal with the Korean cultural content market in China on March 3.

Since the Defense Ministry announced the deployment of a THAAD missile defense system in July last year, the ministry - particularly the Cultural Content Industry Office and the Tourism Policy Office - has been monitoring China’s ban on Korean culture. As Beijing put a ban on a group tour in Korea on March 2, the Culture Ministry has elevated the monitoring system to the comprehensive task force led by the acting minister.

“A weekly meeting led by Acting Minister Song Soo-keun has taken place to develop measures since early March," a source from the ministry said. "We plan to develop actions with other economy-related ministries and agencies.”

“As China has the upper hand in the ban on Korean culture, it is difficult for us to use the same strategy as a countermeasure," another source said. "Instead, we are seeking ways to further diversify markets other than China in exporting Korean cultural contents.”

Some critics, however, say that it is a belated action. “Since the announcement of the THAAD deployment in July last year, the private sector has reduced dependency on the Chinese market while developing a global strategy, such as pioneering new markets for Korean cultural contents such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe,” said Jeong Deok-hyeon, a popular culture critic. “The government has always been reactive in response to China’s sanctions on Korean cultural contents, a few steps behind private companies.”