INTHEBLACK June 2025 - Magazine - Page 26
FEATURE
“When our movies and theatre companies do well, when
our museums create a positive reputation for Australia,
that’s all part of Australian branding in some way.”
DAVID THROSBY, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY
Griffin says. “Unlike Australia, for example,
Korea has few natural resources and therefore
has had to invest significantly in education
and human capital development, resulting
in a very highly educated population and
skilled workforce.”
She adds that a focus on the entertainment
industry as an area for export growth has
been a masterstroke. “Korea is today known
for its movies, K-pop talent, and music
and television dramas. The spread of Hallyu
has been helped by digital platforms like
YouTube, Facebook and streaming platforms
such as Netflix, where today you can find
a vast array of Korean dramas and movies.”
STIMULATING ECONOMIC GROWTH
At the core of South Korea’s cultural
economy success is government funding,
smart branding and, more recently, digital
innovation, allowing it to go head-to-head
with bigger economies such as the US (think
Hollywood and music), China (streaming
and social media platforms), Japan (anime),
France and Italy (fashion and food) and
India (Bollywood). These countries provide
inspiration for countries such as Australia
that want to leverage cultural industries and
expand their “soft power” internationally.
Respected cultural economist David Throsby,
a distinguished professor of economics at
Macquarie University in Sydney, says fostering
cultural and creative industries can deliver
economic clout. He notes the distinction
between cultural assets such as film, music
and television, which are often tied to national
identity; and broader creative assets, including
elements such as software development
and digital media, which are not traditionally
seen as cultural.
Throsby believes the Australian
Government has a “neoliberal role” to play
through market intervention that supports
culture and the creative arts, pointing out
that these elements “produce a form of public
26 INTHEBLACK June 2025
good” and strengthen the Australian brand.
“When our movies and theatre companies
do well, when our museums create a positive
reputation for Australia, that’s all part of
Australian branding in some way,” he says.
Griffin envisages significant opportunities
for South Korea and Australia to partner
in a range of sectors. “Stronger and deeper
collaboration in film and television could
leverage our respective strengths, partnering
Korea’s high-quality production and
storytelling while leveraging Australia’s
diverse landscapes.”
In addition, South Korea’s global
leadership around video games and the
“gamification” of society could provide
a chance for collaboration on game design
or e-sports, “with Australia doing most
of the learning and South Korea doing
most of the teaching,” says Griffin.
TARGET SHORT- AND LONG-TERM GOALS
Proactive governments are typically quick
to seize cultural opportunities, whether
they result in short-term economic gains
or contribute to longer-term plans. In 2024,
the Singapore Government brokered
a deal that led to pop superstar Taylor Swift
playing six nights of her The Eras Tour in
the country. Most concertgoers flew in from
neighbouring South-East Asian countries
as part of a musical coup that added up to
US$375 million to Singapore’s economy.
“Credit to Singapore for being able to pull
off that sort of instant financial injection
into the economy,” says Scott Blakemore,
a lecturer and cultural and sports diplomacy
expert at Griffith University in Brisbane.
Although Australia could target such
mega-events, Blakemore thinks most value
can stem from federal and state governments
strategically investing in a longer-term
vision that focuses on sports events such
as the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and
Paralympic Games, or which backs the
