korea’s ministry of future creation--11/3/26

03 Nov 2026

korea’s ministry of future creation--11/3/26

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Today's selection -- from The Birth of Korean Cool by Euny Hong. Korea has stormed to a leading position among the developed world, in part due to the determined leadership of its government in plotting a course to the future:

“After bringing the country to the forefront of cutting-edge technology and popular culture, the Korean government is now taking definite and expensive steps to ensure that the twenty-first century becomes known as Korea's Century.

“Immediately after President Park Geun-hye took office in February 2013, she established a brand-new ministry, initially called the Ministry of Future Creation and Science. As a friend of mine joked, ‘It sounds like a ministry that will be created in the future. So they can't ever actually create it.’

“The name leaves so much to the imagination–some critics say, far too much. Each question leads to more questions. What will the Ministry of Future Creation and Science be doing? The mission statement on its official website says, ‘Science & technology and ICT [are] the key to the creative economy and greater happiness of the public.’ ICT is a jargony acronym for information and communication technology.

Park Geun-hye official portrait, 2013

“The sentence requires much unpacking. What exactly is a ‘creative economy’? It's the official catchphrase of Park's government, and the new ministry's site defines it as follows: The creative asset that combines creative idea, imagination and JCT plays a pivotal role in stimulating start-ups. New growth strategies can be mapped out to create many high-quality jobs through the convergence with existing industries, which in turn leads to the emergence of new markets and industries.

“In plain language, the government is funding the human imagination. Sounds good, but it's still not very clear.

“As one skeptic told me, ‘President Park is under no obligation to explain. It's the future, so it's intangible. If she could explain it, then it wouldn't be intangible anymore. It's like Edison's lab. They don't know what they're looking for.’

“In a move that clarified nothing, Korea changed the official English name of the ministry in March 2013 to the less cool-sounding Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. Critics were merciless. The op-ed in the April 3, 2013, English-language edition of the Korea Times, said, ‘Ministry of ICT: Give Pay Cut to Who Named It!’

“What is the Park government trying to accomplish with this new ministry?

“The website outlines the ministry's five main strategies, including ‘making software and content industries [pop culture products] the core of the Korean economy’--in other words, bringing IT and Hallyu exports to the next level.

“Another strategy is ‘establishing a creative economy ecosystem.’ The word ‘ecosystem’ sounds natural and organic, but in human activities, ecosystems never arise by themselves. This ministry with the long name is clearly a Korean-style ministry, meaning that it has to exercise some muscle to put the elements of the ecosystem in motion.

“Reading between the lines (and based on the government's previously stated agenda), it's clear that the ministry intends to marshal private enterprise to achieve the goals of ‘greater happiness of the public.’ The government nudging private industry to cooperate with national goals is a familiar theme, but this time there is a radical new twist: the ministry wants the big companies to help encourage small and medium-sized businesses to succeed. Now, why would any big company want to help its potential competitors, and what sort of government would have the audacity to ask such a favor? Well, if history is any guide, the government may actually force big companies to cooperate either by mandate or by making them an offer they can't refuse–namely, by making it too costly and distressing for big companies not to play along.

“The country expects no less, and that would have been true regardless of who took office in February 2013. Park faces the thankless, high-pressure task of turning the nation into a combination of Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and Industrial Light & Magic–only better, faster, and more advanced.

“For the first time in Korea history–perhaps in any nation's history–the Korean government is putting huge financial and political resources behind something as intangible as ‘discovery.’ No guidelines, no maps; just money and faith.”