▲ Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Chae Hwi-young speaks during a press conference at a Seoul theater on Sept. 4, 2025, to mark one month since he took office. (Yonhap)
▲ Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Chae Hwi-young speaks during a press conference at a Seoul theater on Sept. 4, 2025, to mark one month since he took office. (Yonhap)

culture minister-press conference

Despite Korean culture's flash, industries' reality remains dire, says new minister

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) -- The new culture minister said Thursday that despite the global success of K-pop, films and other entertainment, the reality he has witnessed inside the industries is one of "despair."

"The reality I've seen, heard and felt while visiting various sites is so different from the glamorous image that it left me feeling perplexed and embarrassed," Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Chae Hwi-young told reporters at his first press conference since taking office about a month ago.

"This is indeed a huge opportunity for us, but many people in the industries speak of negative views and despair that we are now at the peak and face only decline," he said, referring to the growing global popularity of Netflix's original animated film "KPop Demon Hunters."

"There are concerns that if we simply get carried away with this festive atmosphere, we will inevitably fall into a quagmire in the near future," he warned.

The minister specifically highlighted the severe crisis facing the film industry. He reported that fewer than 20 films with a production budget of over 3 billion won ($2.15 million) are expected to be made in South Korea this year, compared with about 100 in a typical year.

"Investment has stopped, and the film production scene has run out of money," Chae said. "The ecosystem of the film industry is collapsing to the point where filmmakers can't make a living."

He cited the case of renowned director Lee Chang-dong, who had to return a government grant after failing to secure the remaining investment for a new film. The director eventually turned to the global streaming giant Netflix.

"We need a way to get out of a situation where artists go to overseas OTT (over-the-top) services because they can't get investment here," Chae said.

The minister also voiced frustration over his ministry's lack of budget to support foreign productions filming in South Korea, saying the shortfall could hinder efforts to expand the reach of K-culture.

"Despite requests for co-productions from foreign studios, the government does not have a single penny in the budget to provide support," he said, adding that "K-culture" does not necessarily have to consist only of homegrown works.

Chae also pointed to a lack of infrastructure, particularly permanent K-pop performance venues.

"There are too few year-round concert halls, so even when 'hallyu' fans come to Korea, which they consider the mecca of K-pop, they say they cannot actually see K-pop performances," he said. "There are many areas where government funding should serve as seed money, but I feel it has been neglected."

The minister said the only way to address the challenges facing Korean culture is to increase the cultural budget.

While next year's budget is expected to rise about 9.2 percent, he noted that South Korea still ranks in the lower-middle tier among OECD countries in terms of the share of cultural spending in the national budget.

He pledged to manage cultural policies carefully to ensure the current opportunity is not wasted, despite unfavorable conditions.

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