The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on January 10 that it held the "2026 Overseas Korean Cultural Center Directors and Cultural Attachés Conference" at the KOCIS Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The conference, running through January 13 at venues including the KOCIS Center and the National Museum of Korea, brought together directors of 42 Korean Cultural Centers and cultural attachés from 35 countries worldwide.
On the first day, Minister Choi Hwi-young presided over a training session where participants shared the ministry's key policy directions, each center's major achievements, current issues, and future plans. The Korean Cultural Centers in Osaka, Spain, Vietnam, and Thailand, along with the Cultural Office in Beijing, received ministerial commendations for being named top performers in the "2025 Overseas Korean Cultural Center Performance Evaluation."
The ministry will strengthen cooperation networks between overseas Korean Cultural Centers and domestic partner organizations. In the largest such gathering since these conferences began, participants will hold four rounds of working-level meetings with 47 related organizations, local governments, and private groups spanning culture, arts, tourism, sports, content, and related industries including food, beauty, and fashion. Through these efforts, the overseas Korean Cultural Centers plan to expand K-culture's reach and identify collaborative projects that can generate tangible export results.
The conference also features expert lectures to enhance field expertise. Starting with a lecture on "Trends in the Cultural Sector" by Kim Nan-do, Professor Emeritus of Consumer Science at Seoul National University, speakers including Yoo Hong-jun, Director of the National Museum of Korea, and Kim Chun-soo, former Director of the Korean Cultural Center in New York, will share insights on strategies for spreading K-culture globally.
Overseas Korean Cultural Centers and cultural offices serve as global hubs for promoting K-culture, supporting K-culture exports, cultural Official Development Assistance, and summit diplomacy, with their importance growing in recent years. This conference aims to explore ways to strengthen their role as bridgeheads for K-culture exports.
Minister Choi Hwi-young said, "As the President declared in his New Year's address that Korea would shift its growth paradigm from product-led growth to 'attractive growth led by culture' for the nation's great leap forward, culture is now a core driver of our national brand and economic growth." He added, "As overseas Korean Cultural Centers serve as bridgeheads for K-culture exports, we will actively support them to become hubs where people can experience Korean culture, consume Korean products such as food, beauty, and fashion, and discover the appeal of visiting Korea," according to the ministry.