FEATURE | K-EnterTech Global Summit 2026 · Keynote by Prof. Ko Sam-seog (Dongguk University)
Korea Completes the EGOT, but Hallyu's Next 30 Years Hinge on "Co-Evolution" with AI
Prof. Ko Sam-seog: K-content revenue hits 157 trillion won and USD 14.18 billion in exports; Korea ranks #1 worldwide for SVOD local originals — yet negative perception agreement rises from 30.7% to 37.5% in five years and "#SEAbling" boycotts emerge across Southeast Asia. The first real-world test of the co-evolution model launches in September with K-Channel 82 on Sinclair's ATSC 3.0 network.
Prof. Ko Samseog Ko of Dongguk University — member of the Presidential Council on National AI Strategy and standing chair of the K-EnterTech Forum — delivering the keynote at the K-EnterTech Global Summit @ WIS 2026, held April 24 at COEX, Seoul.
The next thirty years of K-Culture will be decided by "co-evolution" with AI, not by another round of quantitative expansion. With the 2025 Tony Award for the musical Maybe Happy Ending (Eojjeomyeon Haepiending), Korea joined the very short list of nations holding all four major U.S. entertainment honors — Emmy (Squid Game, 2022), Grammy (soprano Sumi Jo, 1993), Oscar (Parasite, 2020) and Tony (2025).
According to Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, content industry revenue reached 157.4 trillion won in 2025, and exports hit USD 14.18 billion, after a decade in which exports compounded at 10.2% a year in dollar terms. Yet the era of pure volume growth is closing. Generative AI now operates across the full content value chain — planning, production, post-production, marketing and consumption — and competition is moving from "how much we export" to "which technology we combine with, and how."
Speaking at the K-EnterTech Global Summit @ WIS 2026 in Seoul on April 24, Prof. Ko Sam-seog of Dongguk University — a member of the Presidential Council on National AI Strategy and standing chair of the K-EnterTech Forum — argued that the Korean content industry "must move from quantitative expansion to qualitative maturity," and that the route forward is co-evolution (공진화): Korean content and Korean AI advancing onto the global stage as a single proposition. The keynote was titled "The Future of K-Culture: Coevolution & EnterTech."
1. From "What is Love" to EGOT: A Thirty-Year Arc
Three decades of K-Culture — from the 1997 broadcast of the drama "What is Love" in China through BoA (2001), H.O.T. (2003), Dae Jang Geum and Winter Sonata (2005), Gangnam Style (2012), My Love from the Star (2013), Descendants of the Sun (2016), BTS (2019), Parasite (2020) and Minari (2021). The route: China → Japan → Southeast Asia → the Americas → worldwide. (Source: Ko Sam-seog keynote)
Ko opened with a single lyric from BTS's "Aliens": Pardon Mr. Kim Gu, tell me how you feel. The reunion concert in Seoul's Gwanghwamun district on March 21 — the group's first full-lineup show in roughly three years after mandatory military service — was, for Ko, more than a music event. It was a stand-in for an industry that has grown up.
"Just as BTS grew from boys into men, K-Culture and the content industry must move beyond quantitative expansion into qualitative growth and qualitative maturity."
The Korean Wave that began in 1997 with the broadcast of the drama What is Love on Chinese television has, in thirty years, reached EGOT status. The Tony Award for Maybe Happy Ending in 2025 closed the loop on Korea's collection of the four major U.S. entertainment honors. The BBC reported that "Korea has attained EGOT status." Korea is no longer simply an exporter of content; Korean culture itself has become the content. Returning from meetings in Washington D.C. and Las Vegas, Ko said the global breakout of KPop Demon Hunters made the cultural shift visible inside the American mainstream.
2. 157 Trillion Won, USD 14.18 Billion — and #1 on Local Originals
Ministry of Culture 2025 Content Industry Survey — 2025 revenue of 157.4 trillion won and exports of USD 14.18 billion, with 2014–2023 CAGR of 5.2% in won revenue and 10.2% in USD exports. Exports have grown nearly twice as fast as domestic revenue. (Source: Statistics Korea, MCST)
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's 2025 Content Industry Survey put content revenue at 157.4 trillion won and exports at USD 14.18 billion.
📎 Read full article on K-EnterTech Hub →
About K-EnterTech Forum · K-엔터테크포럼
K-EnterTech Forum (K-ETF, K-엔터테크포럼)은 엔터테인먼트 테크놀로지, K-콘텐츠, 한류, 미디어 정책 분야의 전문 인사이트를 제공하는 국내 대표 플랫폼입니다. K-팝·K-드라마·K-푸드·K-컬처와 AI·스트리밍·크리에이터 이코노미·방송 기술의 공진화(Co-Evolution) 전략을 연구하고, 국내외 포럼·행사를 통해 정책 및 산업 협력 의제를 이끌고 있습니다.
K-EnterTech Forum is Korea's leading platform for insights on entertainment technology, K-Content, Hallyu, and media policy — bridging Korean cultural industries with global technology trends.
고삼석 상임의장 · Chairman Samseog Ko
고삼석(Ko Samseog)은 K-EnterTech Forum 상임의장입니다. 동국대학교 첨단융합대학 석좌교수이자 국가인공지능전략위원회 분과위원으로, 30년 이상의 방송통신 정책 및 산업 경험을 바탕으로 K-콘텐츠와 글로벌 엔터테인먼트 기술의 융합을 선도하고 있습니다. 前 방송통신위원회 상임위원을 역임했으며, ZDNet Korea에 정기 칼럼을 연재 중입니다.
Samseog Ko is the founding Chairman (상임의장) of K-EnterTech Forum. He is a Distinguished Professor at Dongguk University and a member of Korea's National AI Strategy Committee. Former Commissioner of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).
📩 familygang@naver.com | 🌐 entertechfrum.com | 고삼석 상임의장 소개 →
