Ministry redefines 'K-culture,' adds 100 trillion won to sector's target market size

This article is by Jin Eun-soo and read by an artificial voice. The ministry newly included export figures from lifestyle industries such as K-beauty, K-food and K-fashion, while excluding sales from e-commerce and overlapping sectors. "There were adjustment that needed to be made in how we define K-culture. The categorization wasn't refined in the previous version," said Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young in a news conference held Thursday, marking the first anniversary of the Lee Jae Myung administration. "Exports of K-food, beauty and fashion were clearly reflection of overseas demand created because of K-culture. So we included them." Chae adjusted the goal for export figures as well. When exports from lifestyle industries are included, K-culture exports would rank third in 2025 among Korea's industries after semiconductors and automobiles, according to Chae. Under the adjusted definition of K-culture, its exports came at $71.8 billion last year while that of semiconductors and autos came at $173.4 billion and $72 billion, respectively. The ministry raised its export target for 2030 from $35 billion to $110 billion. Questions remain over how the newly added sectors will be coordinated with other ministries, as K-food and K-beauty are already overseen by different government bodies. "Whether the newly defined concept of K-culture will be officially recognized or remain a conceptual definition within the ministry requires further discussion with relevant ministries," Chae said. Chae emphasized that his governing for the past year focused on making site visits. "The first year was focused on normalizing what was not normal," the minister said. "The previous administration came to a halt due to an unfortunate incident, and it was urgent to address the mistakes and side effects that followed. We strengthened communication with people in the field, and after becoming minister, I made 270 site visits." Fanomenom, a large-scale K-pop festival planned by the ministry, will become a major pillar of expanding the K-culture boom. It will include an award ceremony and is scheduled to launch by December, 2027, the minister said. The project, conceived as a Korean version of Coachella, is being promoted by the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, co-chaired by Chae and Park Jin-young from JYP Entertainment. All four major K-pop agencies in Korea are expected to participate. Beginning in spring 2028, a global K-pop tour is also scheduled to launch with stops planned in major cities worldwide. "There will be more details at around summer this year," Chae said.