Event Details

Ever since PSY's Gangnam style became the first song to "break the internet" in 2012, Korean popular culture has been garnering attention worldwide. Meanwhile, in the last five years, Korean movies and drama series have been attracting global audiences and winning prizes at international awards ceremonies. Not to be overlooked is the gaming scene, with Korean-developed mobile, PC, and VR games played the world over. When the boy band BTS, dubbed by a Bloomberg journalist "South Korea's greatest gift to popular music", appeared at the United Nations and then visited President Joe Biden in the White House, it was clear to all that the country had found its cultural niche and was enjoying its moment in the spotlight, literally and figuratively.


Earlier this month, Kakao Entertainment Corp, which has recently produced two hit Netflix original series and an award-winning drama feature film, announced that it had secured an almost $1bn investment from global sovereign funds. From the public sector, the South Korean government will spend more than $170mn to create an alliance with more than two-hundred South Korean companies and institutions, to become a leading player in the "metaverse" industry, a bold move considering the ambiguity that surrounds the word. As the enthusiasm for Korean music and other content spreads, a more resilient global standing and stronger diplomatic ties are further reasons to keep the government's attention fixed on the booming new industry.


What are the new trends in the Korean entertainment industry in 2023 and beyond? How could they affect other businesses beyond artistic productions? Will international investors fly to Seoul to get, most literally, a piece of the action? Are these the first stirrings of a global subculture, similar to Bollywood, or will South Korea run out of steam, the way Japanese anime did in the 2000s?


Join us in April for this event where we bring together experts from the field of popular culture, as well as other business leaders to discuss where K-showbiz is headed, and what it means for the wider corporate world in South Korea.

Agenda

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Registration and Networking
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Discussion and Lunch

Venue

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, ARA I

97, Saemunan-ro, Jongno-gu,
Seoul, Korea (South)

If you have any questions please contact EICN North Asia

Contact Organizer

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Speakers

  • Fiona Bae (Founder & CEO of fionabae Ltd.)

    Fiona Bae

    Founder & CEO of fionabae Ltd.

    Fiona Bae is the author of the internationally acclaimed book Make Break Remix: The Rise of K-style published by Thames & Hudson. Born and raised in Korea, she is proud of her heritage and passionate about promoting her country and culture. Following graduation from Yonsei University in Seoul, she has lived around the world, including stints at the UN in New York and four years in Hong Kong, and now resides in London.

    Fiona has her own consultancy that looks to bridge Korean culture and the rest of the world by promoting Korean artists, designers and architects internationally. She leads communications for Frieze Seoul, represented the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and worked with museum M+ in Hong Kong. Stories about how her clients are transforming Seoul’s urban life and its design and art scenes have appeared in the Financial Times, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, The Economist, Le Figaro, Monocle Magazine, and Wallpaper*.

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  • Dohee (Diane) Kim (General Manager at Corporate Communication Center of SM Brand Marketing)

    Dohee (Diane) Kim

    General Manager at Corporate Communication Center of SM Brand Marketing

    Dohee Kim (Diane) is General Manager for corporate communications at SM Brand Marketing, a subsidiary of SM Entertainment Group. SM Brand Marketing is leading a new business including on/offline platform, fan community and Web 3.0 based business. Before her current role, Diane took a number of international leadership roles at various companies, including global research & management consulting firms at Accenture China and the head of the Seoul office for BCC Global. She studied policy studies at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan.

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  • Diane Min (Head of Format Sales at CJ ENM)

    Diane Min

    Head of Format Sales at CJ ENM

    Diane is currently the head of format sales at CJ ENM, overlooking non-scripted and scripted format distribution for 16 cable networks.

    She joined CJ ENM in 2010 and was responsible for finished tape sales for China, SEA, America, Europe and MENA. Since she has been leading format sales from 2015, She has been successfully commissioned more than 80+ format deals globally and some highlights of her work are <Grandpas over Flowers(a.k.a Better Late Than Never)> for NBC and 12 countries and <I Can See Your Voice> for 27 countries like FOX(US), BBC ONE(UK), RTL(Germany), RTL4(Holland) etc. Diane received a Korean Prime Minister Citation Award at the 2022 Korea Content Awards, which is the nation’s most prestigious content awards ceremony that discovers and honors content and contributors that played a role in the development of the Korean content industry.

    Prior to CJ ENM, Diane worked at Warner Media’s Cartoon Network for kids programming for 4 years.

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  • Jacco Zwetsloot (Network Moderator, Seoul at Economist Intelligence Corporate Network)

    Jacco Zwetsloot

    Network Moderator, Seoul at Economist Intelligence Corporate Network

    Jacco Zwetsloot has lived in Korea for 20 of the last 25 years, with a broad range of work experience in the communication, legal, tourism, training and broadcasting sectors. He has worked as an English teacher, a tour guide for the US military, a regular radio show guest, and a translator of North Korean propaganda. Currently, Jacco works as a content creator for a communications consultancy Insight Communications Consultants, hosts a weekly podcast about North Korea, moderates panel discussions, writes a monthly Korean newspaper column and still leads occasional lunchtime walking tours in downtown Seoul for the Royal Asiatic Society Business & Culture Club. Jacco holds a Master of Arts degree in Korean Studies from Leiden University, a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies from Monash University and a separate Bachelor of Arts in Modern European Studies and German Language from the University of Melbourne.

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