South Korea Launches $2.2 Million Fund to Support Independent K-pop Agencies

South Korea’s government has introduced a new $2.2 million fund to help independent K-pop agencies expand globally. The program is overseen by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).

The details:

• The name of the fund is the “Global Leap Forward Support” project.

• 10 "mid-sized and small" agencies have been selected so far.

• Each agency will receive up to 300 million won ($197,000) every year for three years, depending on the efficacy of the money.

• The money will go towards activities to raise global awareness, such as marketing, video production, and touring.

• The plan is to support 10 new agencies each year.

• K-pop groups involved with the current agencies include Rescene, Xikers, TUNEXX, can’t be blue, Kiiras, 82Major, Big Ocean, Uspeer, X:in, and 8Turn.

What they said:

• Choi Sung-hee, Director General of the Ministry’s Content Media Industry Bureau: “For K-pop to achieve sustainable growth, the smaller agencies that form the backbone of our industry must be able to thrive. We hope this initiative sparks another ‘small-agency miracle’ to lead K-pop's future.”