Gov't will launch 'K-info Hub' to correct misinformation about Korea

Home > Culture > Life & Style

Gov't will launch 'K-info Hub' to correct misinformation about Korea

Published: 28 May. 2024, 10:00

YOON SO-YEON
yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon, center, at a press briefing on Thursday at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul branch in southern Seoul [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

The government will create a go-to website called the K-info Hub to provide information on everything Korean and correct misinformation in popular overseas data services, namely Wikipedia, as part of a four-year plan to double down on Korea’s overseas promotional strategy.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced its newest international public relations strategy on Monday at the Seoul Government Complex in central Seoul, detailing its three major missions of its upgraded state promotion plans: A unified promotional message among all government ministries, the distribution of correct information about Korea and partnerships with content creators in and outside of the country.

“The government has been promoting Korea in various ways, but it’s true that each ministry or government body has been doing so according to their own agendas, therefore lacking a unified message or goal,” said Yong Ho-seong, the deputy minister for international cultural affairs and public relations, in a press briefing at the government complex on Monday.

“Korea has been fortunate enough to establish a positive image in the global landscape, mainly due to cultural content such as K-pop and K-dramas, but, in retrospect, we have lacked the proper deliberation on how to properly utilize the situation. So, the main goal will be to bring together the different channels, images and data that have been dispersed widely and form a uniform tactic.”

The ministry will begin by analyzing the platforms through which foreigners research Korea, as well as the services they frequently use and queries they look for. It will then gather a team of experts from the ministry and other related institutions to correct wrong or outdated information.

The K-info Hub will serve as a new website to provide information on Korea, mostly based on existing official data that were previously scattered across various places.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon explains the ministry's new department specializing in international cultural affairs and public relations in a press briefing on Thursday at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul branch in southern Seoul. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

Other missions include providing more information to foreign press, uploading open source data including pictures and videos of Korea for various creators and collaborating with not only conventional media, but also creators from new platforms, such as YouTube and TikTok, to create both hard and soft content on Korea.

The ultimate goal is to promote Korea as the “global pivotal state sharing with the world,” according to Culture Minister Yu In-chon.

“We hope this new plan for overseas promotion will help cement Korea as a ‘pivotal state’ in the global scene, based on the heated attention that the world has been paying to K-culture,” Yu said. “We will support the overseas launch of art, content and tourism and also help to create a healthy cycle by boosting overseas promotional activities.”

The announcement comes four days after Yu announced the ministry’s newest K-culture promotion plan with a new department specializing in international cultural affairs and public relations by incorporating the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (Kofice) into the ministry.

The new bureau will oversee and align all overseas promotions and support programs held by state-run cultural institutions, such as Arts Council Korea (Arko) and the Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS), by tapping into the government's resources around the world, including culture centers and Sejong Language Institutes in different countries.

The new department will also expand its cooperation with other government ministries, namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to create synergy between other government-led events. The collaborative effort will also help to establish a single promotional motto for the government, according to the Culture Ministry.

The Finance Ministry will finalize a budget for the new projects around August and September. Minister Yu expressed “a positive outlook,” as the Culture Ministry's goals align with those of the Finance Ministry and the overall sentiment of the government.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]