The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea has announced a plan to invest KRW 43 billion to train over 3,400 talents in response to the changing landscape of the content industry driven by AI technology. In collaboration with the Korea Creative Content Agency, the initiative aims to foster sustainable growth for K-content by systematically nurturing experts in technology convergence, specialized fields, and international competitiveness. Prospective trainees can apply according to their career and future plans after checking the annual schedule. Notably, this year, the ‘AI Specialized Content Academy’ will be launched as a key new project to address changes in content creation environments, such as generative AI.
Of the total budget, KRW 19.2 billion will be allocated to train 1,200 AI specialists, including 900 beginners, 100 experienced professionals, and 100 aspiring game industry workers. The beginner course combines theory, practical training, and expert guidance to strengthen basic AI skills, while the advanced course focuses on real-world content production and commercialization. Recruitment for the beginner course will take place twice a year (April–August), and the advanced course once (March–April). Game industry trainees will be recruited twice at the Game Talent Center in February and June.
The ministry is also strengthening field-oriented education through the ‘Creative Talent Companion Project’ and specialized training for each sector. This project, with a budget of KRW 9.7 billion, supports close mentorship with top experts, such as director Jang Jae-hyun of ‘Exhuma’, writer Moon Ji-won of ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’, and composer Cho Byung-hyun of ‘Reborn Rich’. In April, 300 aspiring creators aged 19 to 34 will be selected. In the OTT broadcasting sector, 1,000 professionals will receive specialized training in planning and post-production in partnership with Netflix. The webtoon sector will train 140 individuals, while animation, pop music, and popular culture sectors will provide practical education for 45, 120, and 450 trainees, respectively.
To strengthen K-content’s global market entry, the ministry will select 100 new and current professionals for export-focused training between April and May, covering overseas market research and export marketing theory and practice. Detailed recruitment guidelines and schedules are available on the KOCCA (www.kocca.kr) and EduKOCCA (edu.kocca.kr) websites. Lim Sung-han, Director of Cultural Industry Policy, emphasized that providing growth opportunities for next-generation talents is key to the sustainable future of the cultural content industry, and pledged continued systematic support for convergence talents to become creative leaders on the global stage.