While the word "creative economy" has become
a buzzword in Korea, Britain has been familiar
with the term for over a decade.
And this shared interest in boosting national
productivity through culture, arts and sciences
is partly why the British culture minister
is in town for meetings.
Our Kim Han-ul tells us how both countries
are learning how to be more creative from
each other.
In the UK, "creative industry" is a key driver
of economic growth.
The government defined the term 15 years ago
as activities that are driven by creativity,
knowledge and information.
This includes the fields of design, architecture,
interactive software and telecommunications.
Today, the country has one of the world's
largest and most successful creative industries,
which is worth over 53 billion dollars a year
and employs more than 1-point-5 million people.
"I'm here at the British Embassy in Seoul,
where a business delegation led by Britain's
Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative
Industries is exploring possible business
partnerships and collaborations between Korea
and Britain."
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Minister
Ed Vaizey talked about what inspired his trip.
"As the minister both for culture and creative
industries, I am also the minister for telecoms
and broadband and I have constantly had to
wrestle with people in my country saying,
why can't we be more like South Korea?
So now I've come to see for myself to find
out how can we be more like South Korea."
Minister Vaizey also offered his opinion on
President Park Geun-hye's new Ministry of
Future, Creation and Science, saying he believes
it will help her help the creative industries.
But he also had some words of advice for the
president.
"The focus should be on the skills maintaining
access to very high quality education, access
to finance so that creative industries can
have the investment they need to grow and
to create a climate that fosters innovation."
The minister will be in Korea for three days
to attend a seminar and to meet with key government
and business leaders.
Kim Han-ul, Arirang News.
