Korean cultural content industries log 69 trillion won in sales in first half of 2023

Screenshot of BTS' album covers (Big Hit Music website)

Sales in South Korea's cultural content industries for the first half of 2023 logged a total of 69.3 trillion won ($52.8 billion), riding high on the rapid growth of the nation's music and film industries, according to a report by Korea Creative Content Agency on Wednesday.

According to KOCCA's report on trends in Korea's cultural content industries during the January-June period in 2023, the industries recorded a total of 69.3 trillion won in sales, a 2.5 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year. The report combined survey data from 1,500 businesses in 11 domestic cultural content industries.

Korea's music industry recorded the highest growth rate in terms of sales with 6.1 trillion won, logging an on-year growth rate of 15.2 percent. Korea's movie industry showed the second-highest growth rate in terms of sales, with 1.9 trillion won, recording an on-year growth rate of 12.3 percent.

The animation industry, with sales of 406 billion won, followed with an 8.6 percent on-year sales growth rate, followed by the cartoon industry, with a 6 percent on-year sales growth rate (1.2 trillion won).

According to KOCCA, Korea's music industry achieved notable growth following the rise of K-pop fandom. An increase in the sales of albums and K-pop-related items such as photo cards and photo books contributed largely to the growth of the nation's music industry, the agency added.

KOCCA attributed the increase in revenue in the film industry to the comparatively higher number of releases during the first half of 2023, compared to 2022.

During the first half of 2023, the domestic content industry's exports were estimated at approximately $5.39 billion, showing a 1.3 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year.

Export growth in the nation's comics industry (71.3 percent), the publishing industry (31.7 percent) and the music industry (29.2 percent) contributed to the expansion of the domestic content industry's exports, according to the report.

The number of employees in domestic cultural content industries in the first half of 2023 was estimated at 617,000, the report said, a 0.5 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.

While the number of employees in the animation (6.9 percent) and comics (5.1 percent) industries increased, those in the film and broadcasting decreased by 4.9 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, amid continued deficits in the film and broadcasting industries, the report showed.

By Lee Yoon-seo(yoonseo.3348@heraldcorp.com)