South Korea has announced its biggest ever culture budget, with investment in virtual reality a key priority.
The National Assembly has assigned KRW6.48tn ($4.9 billion) to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for 2020. That represents an increase of almost 10% on the 2019 budget.
The biggest share the budget will go towards the culture sector, with KRW1.1tn to be invested in the virtual reality content sector, while a further KRW40bn will be spent on a new VR content exhibition space in Seoul.
Most of the budget will be spent in the first half the year, in an effort to boost economic growth in the country.
“Through an effective budget execution, (the ministry) will dramatically nurture the country’s cultural potential and spread (Korean) cultural content across the globe and the culture of enjoying leisure activities in everyday life,” said a ministry spokesperson.
A further KRW113bn has been set aside for various funds aimed at “content creators”, while KRW32.3bn will go towards supporting, “local filmmakers, cartoonists and fashion designers to expand into overseas markets”.
Finally, money haws also been earmarked for a new concert hall dedicated to K-pop.
