Korea, EU agree on better culture, tourism ties

SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the European Union agreed to expand
exchanges in the culture and tourism sector Friday with a free trade deal between
the two sides expected to go into effect sometime next year, Seoul's culture
ministry said Friday.
South Korean Culture Minister Yu In-chon and Chairman of the EU Chamber of
Commerce in Korea Jean-Marie Hurtiger signed a preliminary deal, agreeing that
cultural exchanges play a key role in the better relations and co-development.
Under the agreement, the culture ministry and the EU Chamber of Commerce will
co-host a festival during the Group of 20 financial summit scheduled to be held
in Seoul next year, featuring films and performances from Europe.
The two sides will also work on establishing a joint institute on the animation,
e-sports and tourism, the culture ministry said in a press release.
"I hope the cultural and tourism exchanges between the two sides, which have
frankly been inactive in the past, will expand by a considerable extent through
this deal," Minister Yu said.
"The agreement has an important meaning to Korea considering the strength
European nations have in the global market," he added. "Five European countries,
including Germany, England and France, take up 21.6 percent of the global
cultural content market, and France, Spain and Italy are among the world's top
tourist nations."
The EU, the world's largest economic bloc, is South Korea's biggest foreign
investor and second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching nearly
US$100 billion last year.
Their landmark free trade agreement is expected to be ratified next year.
Europe's entertainment industry makes up some 35.5 percent of the global market.
Exports of South Korea's cultural content -- films, performances, broadcast
materials, games, etc. -- to Europe remained below 10 percent as of last year,
according to the culture ministry.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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