The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Jan. 24 quoted its 2020 survey on the content sector that exports of Korean content exceeded KRW 14 trillion in 2020. Shown is Bong Jun-ho, director of the acclaimed film "Parasite," on Feb. 9, 2020, in Los Angeles receiving the Oscar for Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards. (Yonhap News)
By Kim Hyelin and Kim Hayeon
The global popularity of Hallyu (Korean Wave) has boosted exports of Korean content to KRW 14 trillion in a year.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Jan. 24 quoted its survey of the content sector as saying such exports reached USD 11.92 billion in 2020.
Using the Bank of Korea's annual exchange rate of an average KRW 1,180 to the dollar in 2020, the industry's export volume amounted to KRW 14.7 trillion.
Based on the 2020 exchange rate, the sum marked a rise of 16.3% from USD 10.25 billion in 2019.
Despite the 5.5% decrease in the country's exports in 2020, overseas shipments of Korean content posted an increase.
Hallyu helped stimulate exports in the industry via global platforms. The content sectors seeing the highest growth were publishing with 61.1%, films 43%, cartoons 36.3%, broadcasting 28.5% and gaming 23.1%.
Gaming accounted for the biggest share of export value with USD 8.19 billion, followed by characters with USD 715.8 million, broadcasting USD 692.79 million, knowledge and information USD 691.99 million and music USD 679.63 million.
Content sales hit KRW 128.28 trillion in 2020, up 1.2% from KRW 126.71 trillion in 2019. As demand for cultural content online requiring no contact rose, digital distribution-based games (21.3%) and cartoons (14.7%) enjoyed high growth.
Broadcasting accounted for the largest share of content sales with KRW 21.96 trillion, followed by publishing with KRW 21.64 trillion, knowledge and information KRW 19.37 trillion, games KRW 18.88 trillion and advertising KRW 17.42 trillion.
kimhyelin211@korea.kr
