Minister Mélanie Joly is in South Korea to Discuss Cultural Diversity and Export of Creative Content

SEOUL, April 6, 2018

Minister Joly visited South Korea to meet with several key players in that country’s creative industry, with a view to building bridges between the creative industries of the two countries, opening a dialogue about the diversity of cultural content on digital platforms, and promoting the export of creative content.

During her visit to Seoul, the Minister met with her South Korean counterpart, the Honourable Do Jong‑hwan, Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism. The two Ministers discussed ways to strengthen trade and cultural export links between the two countries, as well as the importance of preserving the diversity of cultural content on the Web.

Twenty years ago, the South Korean government adopted a cultural policy that made the peninsula an export power and a major cultural destination, as well as an example for protecting one’s culture. Minister Joly learned more about the best practices resulting from this implementation, in order to benefit Canada’s creative industry. The discussion between the two Ministers also focused on possible solutions to the challenges presented by today’s digital reality. Like Canada, South Korea is a signatory to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

The Minister is proud to announce that she and Minister Do have reiterated their commitment to expand the co-production framework between Canada and the Republic of Korea. Negotiating a modern treaty will increase collaborative projects between Canadian and South Korean producers and support the growth of the audio-visual production industry in Canada, valued at $8.38 billion in 2016.

The video gaming and animation industry is a booming sector in Canada, and Minister Joly took advantage of her visit to Seoul, considered a mega-hub for the sector, to meet with Korean entrepreneurs working in the video game industry, valued at $3.1 billion in 2015. She participated in meetings with the Korea Creative Content Agency, the Seoul Business Agency, and CJ E&M Entertainment, among others.

Canada and South Korea have a constructive relationship. The Minister’s visit strengthened this friendly bilateral relationship, which will continue to grow as South Korea plays an increasingly important role as an economic partner, particularly in the cultural export sector. The two countries have strong trade relations, supported by the Canada–Korea Free Trade Agreement, Canada’s first bilateral free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region.

Opening new markets to foster growth in trade for Canadian creators and creative entrepreneurs is one of the Government of Canada’s goals, in order to create more jobs and strengthen the middle class.

Minister Joly is now heading for China. She will lead Canada’s first creative industries trade mission, whose objective is to strengthen economic relations, foster cooperation between Chinese and Canadian creators and cultural industries, and increase diplomatic exchanges.