Current Trends in Contents Industry and Cooperation between Korea and China

As income levels rise and interest in leisure increases, consumer demand for content increases worldwide. As technology develops the multimedia and multi-channel era is entering the spotlight, featuring convergent content such as webtoons, web dramas and virtual reality (VR) gaining traction. Korea is also making efforts to foster the content industry, as it is not only perceived as expanding the demand market but also as possessing high value added. Like Korea, China is also providing investment and policy support to foster the cultural industry. South Korea ranks seventh in the world and China second. The Chinese market is expected to grow further. Advances in technology will change the areas of content creation, distribution, and consumption. Services to provide customized content for each customer have emerged, and platforms that can be enjoyed without time and space constraints will increase. To respond to this paradigm shift, creative manpower and technology will act as elements of innovation. As demand targets and distribution systems are diversifying, Korea and China need to complement and cooperate on innovation. This paper will propose directions for cooperation in the short, medium and long term. The two countries should expand mutual market entry. It also suggests ways to protect and improve quality content. Co-productions between the two countries should penetrate markets in third-party countries. The two countries should also seek a win-win solution.