Officials and Experts Discuss Cultural and Tourism Cooperation Amid Pending Korea-EU FTA
Published on | Source
The anticipated ratification of the Korea-European Union Free Trade Agreement may not come any time soon after Italy threatened to veto the official signing in fear it would hurt its domestic auto industry.
And on Wednesday, Korea's Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon suggested the deal will not likely be sealed by the end of this year.
In downtown Seoul on the same day, government officials and experts from both Korea and the European Union gathered at a conference organized by the government and the EU Chamber of Commerce in Korea, to talk about a synergy effect of free trade and their cultural and tourism industries.
The consensus here seemed to be that the bilateral FTA would encourage an exchange of various cultural products, which in turn would spur interest among people on both sides, thereby also stimulating the tourism sector.
[Interview : Sergio Arzeni, Director OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs & Local Development] "Tourism is one of the greatest export industries worldwide and Korea can exploit further these opportunities, particularly with the link to culture. Culture as to the distinctiveness of places, regions and countries".
In fact in Europe, the cultural and creative industries generate some 700 billion euros each year, twice that of the region's car manufacturing industry.
And experts here say free trade could also triple the annual 400-thousand European visitors to Korea in five years, while doubling the current 800-thousand Korean tourists to Europe.
Based on their knowledge and experience, the attendees at the event emphasized the need for a further exchange of products, as well as increasing opportunities of co-production.
One of them was a pioneer in film co-production between Asia and Europe, who so far has been involved in 14 projects with Asian countries including Korea.
[Interview : Regis Ghezelbash, Director/Producer Consulting Asia Entertainment] "I think co-production always creates new attraction for audiences, because of different factors. Sometimes because of the shooting location of the film, and sometimes because of the mixture of the actors and actresses. And at the same time it's a mixture of different cultures, and different attitudes and that's it a very interesting window into other cultures".
Looking into the future, the participants raised the idea of establishing a mutual understanding of each others cultures through not only government-led programs but people-to-people exchanges in the private sector.
Choi You-sun, Arirang News.
And on Wednesday, Korea's Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon suggested the deal will not likely be sealed by the end of this year.
In downtown Seoul on the same day, government officials and experts from both Korea and the European Union gathered at a conference organized by the government and the EU Chamber of Commerce in Korea, to talk about a synergy effect of free trade and their cultural and tourism industries.
The consensus here seemed to be that the bilateral FTA would encourage an exchange of various cultural products, which in turn would spur interest among people on both sides, thereby also stimulating the tourism sector.
[Interview : Sergio Arzeni, Director OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs & Local Development] "Tourism is one of the greatest export industries worldwide and Korea can exploit further these opportunities, particularly with the link to culture. Culture as to the distinctiveness of places, regions and countries".
In fact in Europe, the cultural and creative industries generate some 700 billion euros each year, twice that of the region's car manufacturing industry.
And experts here say free trade could also triple the annual 400-thousand European visitors to Korea in five years, while doubling the current 800-thousand Korean tourists to Europe.
Based on their knowledge and experience, the attendees at the event emphasized the need for a further exchange of products, as well as increasing opportunities of co-production.
One of them was a pioneer in film co-production between Asia and Europe, who so far has been involved in 14 projects with Asian countries including Korea.
[Interview : Regis Ghezelbash, Director/Producer Consulting Asia Entertainment] "I think co-production always creates new attraction for audiences, because of different factors. Sometimes because of the shooting location of the film, and sometimes because of the mixture of the actors and actresses. And at the same time it's a mixture of different cultures, and different attitudes and that's it a very interesting window into other cultures".
Looking into the future, the participants raised the idea of establishing a mutual understanding of each others cultures through not only government-led programs but people-to-people exchanges in the private sector.
Choi You-sun, Arirang News.
Advertisement