Joseph Hwang
The apprenticeship system in the K-pop industry in South Korea is a unique program to foster those who want to be an idol of a K-pop band. While the number of applicants for the auditions hosted by K-pop artist management companies is increasing, the number of foreign trainees is also growing gradually. Since the applicant has passed the audition and has become an apprentice, their visa status was often faced on the wall for staying in South Korea. This problem was also a burden to the entertainment companies.
In this context, the Korean government, the Ministry of Economy and Finance held the Meeting of Ministers of Economic Relations with Choi Sang-mok, who is Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy and Finance prepared a plan for responding to this issue (not only the problem of the apprentices but also all agendas to boost Korean tourism for foreigners), the measures were announced to the public on June 18, 2024.
The problem that the Korean government recognized in its foreign tourism policy is that incoming visitors don't stay long in the country. In particular, every few months, the trainees of the K-pop idol groups had to leave and re-enter the country. To address this issue, the South Korean government announced that it will create a separate new visa program for apprentices starting later this year.
The so-called "K-culture Training Visa" will be issued on a pilot basis to aspiring K-pop idol groups as the solution.
The entire tourism policy of South Korea has been considered because the tendency of recovery of tourism has been going back to the state before the pandemic crisis up to almost 90% even in the post-pandemic, but the revenues of tourism are gradually going down.
The Korean government felt the cause of the phenomenon such as: (i) turning the group tourism into the individuals, (ii) the motivations of visitors to enter South Korea have been changed to want to experience and feel the K-culture based on. It shows that the consumption of visitors to South Korea is decreasing, so it is necessary to extend the stay of visitors.
In particular, many visitors want to experience K-culture such as K-pop and the filming locations and memorials of K-dramas. This fact is likely to be related to all around of K-pop industry including the production system and its relevance to the distribution markets. The solution to address these issues is to prepare and operate the ecological infrastructure of the entertainment industry in the domestic with connecting networks.
I will follow up and chase this issue regarding the "K-culture Training Visa" continuously and post the updates on this blog.
* References and quotations:
https://popdiaries.com/k-pop/south-korea-to-introduce-visa-program-specifically-for-kpop-trainees-4766176
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2024/06/602_376796.html
Measures to Promote Foreign Visits to Korea to Increase Tourism Revenue, Meeting of Ministers of Economic Relations No. 24-11-3 (public), June 17, 2024, as below:
https://www.moef.go.kr/nw/nes/detailNesDtaView.do?searchBbsId1=MOSFBBS_000000000028&searchNttId1=MOSF_000000000069344&menuNo=4010100
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