On November 30 (Thursday), KISDI hosted an international forum on the topic ‘The Present and Future of Broadcasting Hallyu; with the focus on promoting international exchanges and strengthening competitiveness.’ The forum was held at Sheraton Seoul D-Cube City Hotel.

This event was organized with the objective of finding ways of improving the competitiveness of Korean broadcast contents and increasing international exchanges. The event began with an opening speech by Director Chang Jin of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), followed by a morning presentation on the necessity of expanding opportunities for cooperation with countries in Southeast Asia. The afternoon session included a presentation on ways of strengthening the competitiveness of Hallyu.

* AIBD (Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development): The AIBD is an inter-governmental organization that services countries of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) in the field of electronic media development.

The main theme of the morning session was how to develop further broadcast exchanges between South Korea and the Southeast Asian countries. Presentations were given by Jackkit Sangkittiwan of Time Consulting from Thailand, Nguyen Ba Quang Nhat of Vietnam's national broadcasting company VTV, and Namanzee Harris of Astro, a Malaysian satellite broadcasting company.

During the afternoon session the forum addressed the issue of how broadcast Hallyu could make the next leap. Professor Jeon Bum-su of Hanyang University gave a presentation on the future direction of Hallyu development; Professor Chu Sung-hee of KISDI gave a presentation on the current state of government support policies for Hallyu; Seoul Women's University's Professor Im Jeong-su presented plans for the training of skilled broadcast production technicians; and, lastly, Professor Lee Moon-haeng of Suwon University presented his work on how to increase the overseas distribution of Korean broadcast contents.

The presentations were followed by a debating session consisting of a roundtable discussion about taking broadcast Hallyu to the next level, moderated by Professor Yu Hong-sik of Joongang University. The participants in the debate included Choi Yong-hoon, head of KBS World Business Department, Kim Yong-chae, head of the SBS Global Business Team, Park Tae-young, CEO of ImagineAsia, Park Sang-ju, director of the Corea Drama Production Association, Kim Wook-il, attorney of Kim and Chang, and Kim Young-ju, head of the Broadcast Content Exchange Cooperation Team of the Korea Communication Commission. Broadcasting representatives from Southeast Asian countries and representatives of Korean broadcast/production companies discussed collaboration on contents business, joint production, and overseas business.

Inquiries: Researcher Roh Eun-jeong,
International Development Cooperation Group (043-531-4286)