Bilans d’évènement
ICC Immersion Korea: France’s first culture-field learning expedition in Korea
From January 29th to February 4th, 2023, we welcomed 15 French culture companies in their business discovery of South Korea!
It was a first for French Korean business relations: following France’s decision to identify Korea as a priority country for the development of creative-industry companies, the Cultural Service of the French Embassy in Korea partnered up with the FKCCI, Business France Korea, French Tech Seoul, INPI, Atout France and the economic service of the Embassy from January 29th to February 4th, to welcome a delegation of 15 French companies specialized in fields as diverse as museology, music, webtoon, metaverse, live performances, and VR, for ‘ICC Immersion’ – a one-week learning expedition aimed at discovering the Peninsula’s cultural sector and connecting with local key players.
The delegation, comprised of representants of Albin Michel, Beyond Stories, Dreamcitites, France Muséums Développement, Hatinh Interactive, Histovery, Ikimasho, Incahoots Production, Lucid Realities, Makma, Beaux Arts Consulting, Philharmonie des enfants, Pianity, VRTUOZ, and WTPL Music, was in for a dense and illuminating adventure! Indeed, South Korea is one of the most promising markets for the cultural sector. In 2022, the country emerged as the 7th largest culture market on the international stage, with its national industry accounting for 2.6% of the world’s market and allowing the creation of 680,000 jobs; its sales and export performances respectively generating 114 and 10.3 billion dollars; and its yearly growth of 4.4%.
At a time when the cultural sector is facing major challenges, such as the digital and environmental transition, and substantive changes due to evolving creation, production, and diffusion practices, Korea also turns out to be a pioneer, as evidenced by the country’s significant investments in metaverse and VR technologies through its Metaverse Alliance; whopping number of industrial patents allowing it to rank 3rd worldwide; and growing interest for new practices and media channels, exemplified by the fact 40% of the Korean musical consumption currently takes place online.
In an attempt to provide the very first ICC Immersion cohort of companies with an overview of the fascinating Korean culture market, coupled with in-depth insights of the industry, FKCCI, Institut français, and Business France concocted a 360° program with numerous highlights:
- The visit of ten cultural sites : immersive art museum Theatre des Lumieres and digital marketing agency Asiance, both members of the French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry; but also Seoul’s traditional neighborhood Insadong, Korea’s most famous monument Gyeongbokgung Palace, the National Palace Museum of Korea, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), VR studio Jump Studio, SK Telecoms’ museum T.Um , Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)’s premises, and Hyundai’s business accelerator Zer01ne.
- The organization of more than 150 B2B meetings with Korean keyplayers, 80 of which by the Chamber, that laid the foundations of several future partnerships.
- A three-day exhibition at Seoul’s contemporary art center Platform-L, during which more than 700 visitors came to meet the delegation and listen to their 16 enlightening round tables and discussions with local specialists of the cultural field.
The delegation headed back to France delighted with the program and highly enthusiastic about the countless opportunities resulting from their participation:
“Thanks to FKCCI’s excellent work, we could meet highly qualified contacts of rare quality. This allowed us to have some very meaningful exchanges”, declared Gildas Dussauze and Marion Delemazure, respectively Founder and CEO, and Chief Operation Officer of metaverse space for arts and cultural exploration VRTUOZ.
“ICC Immersion was an inspiring experience. The delegation of companies was very proactive, which contributed to create a positive emulation, and I could meet many relevant interlocutors thanks to the help of [FKCCI’s] business engineers”, added Xavier Collin, CEO of music publishing company WTPL Music.
Discover more about the program
Do you have a business project in South Korea? Do you wish to explore the local market or meet with your industry’s keyplayers?
Contact our Business Team manager Sonia Chaïeb to start planning your own learning expedition or enjoy one of our services tailored to the needs of your company!
