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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
South Korea’s government agency responsible for supporting the creation and distribution of creative content has opened an office in Warsaw, its first in the Central and Eastern Europe region.
The head of the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) in Poland, Iljoong Kim, says that he sees “enormous potential” for working with Poland’s “high-level” film, music and gaming sectors. He also points to large and growing interest in Korean culture among Poles.
“We want Poland to become a hub connecting Central and Eastern Europe with East Asia,” Kim told Business Insider Polska.
South Korea has become a cultural powerhouse in recent years, with its music, films and TV shows winning over audiences worldwide. Poland is no exception, and indeed has even more fans of Korean cultural exports than many other European countries, notes Kim.
“The popularity of South Korea in your country played a role in the decision to choose Poland,” he told Business Insider. “Our 2023 research showed that Poland has approximately 250,000 people who declare interest in Korean culture and Korean content.”
“It has the largest number of Hallyu [Korean Wave] fans in the region – more than the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Baltic states or Italy. We see great opportunities for development here.”
KOCCA operates by supporting the creation and distribution of content in a wide range of areas, including music, video games, fashion and broadcasting. Kim said that Poland’s strength in such sectors was another major reason for choosing Warsaw as their first base in the region.
“Poland has enormous potential, especially in the gaming and animation industries, but also in film and music,” he told Business Insider. “It is well-known for its high level of creativity in these sectors.”
“We want to support the creation of joint projects between companies,” he added, pointing to three examples: “CD Projekt, TVN, and Polsat are companies that have significant influence and are open to cooperation.”
CD Projekt is one of the biggest video game developers in the world, responsible for creating The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077. TVN and Polsat are Poland’s two largest private broadcasters.
The world's largest producer of kimchi, Daesang, has chosen Poland for its first production site in Europe
The factory – a joint venture with a Polish firm specialising in fermented food – will produce up 3,000 tons of kimchi a year under the Jongga brand https://t.co/CAqDgIrysx
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 8, 2022
Kim said that he also sees the potential for promoting Polish cultural content in Korea and other parts of Asia, pointing as an example to The Witcher, which was originally a series of books by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.
He said that talks are currently underway to develop Witcher comic books into a series for the Webtoon platform, which is majority owned by South Korea’s Naver Corporation.
The launch of KOCCA’s offices in Warsaw was announced last week at a K-Content Expo in the city’s Palace of Culture and Science. It was the first such event in Poland showcasing leading firms from South Korea’s creative industry.
Poland, which has long had thriving film and video game industries, has in recent years increasingly drawn international interest and investment in the creative sector. In 2022, American streaming giant Netflix opened an office in Warsaw, which has focused on creating more content in the region.
South Korea and Poland have also forged increasing business and defence ties in recent years, with Warsaw buying hundreds of Korean tanks, fighter jets, rocket artillery and other hardware. As part of those deals, some of the production will take place in Poland itself.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: aanglerrr/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY 4.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
