Exports Likely to Log US$5.1 billion in 2013, Games Comprising 60%

The Korean content industry is growing, helped by robust exports of games and a steady increase in domestic sales.

According to estimates released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) on December 16, exports of the nation’s content industry are expected to grow 10.6% year-on-year to reach US$5.1 billion for the first time at the end of this year. 

The game industry forms an essential part of the content industry. Outbound shipments of games are projected to hit US$2.9 billion in 2013, up 11.2% from a year ago. The figure represents nearly 60% of total content exports. 

The animation and character industries also have grown in stature. Exports of animation and character products are predicted to record US$620 million, a 10.2% year-on-year gain. In addition, outbound shipments of music content are forecast to amount to US$270 million, up 17.1% percent from 2012. 

MCST estimated that the total sales of the content industry will increase 4.9% year-on-year to reach 90 trillion won (US$85.6 billion) this year. The game industry is likely to expand 9.9% year-on-year to mark 10 trillion won (US$9.5 billion) in revenue, proving that the industry is one of the major growth engines. The prediction is largely attributable to the fact that dramatically increased sales of mobile games are projected to be the main contributor to the industry’s growth. 

On top of that, the animation and character industries are expected to post 8.7 trillion won (US$8.2 billion) in sales, up 8.9% from the previous year, thanks to the success of local animations such as Larva and RobocarPoli.

The growth of the Korean movie market in 2013 is noticeable as well. In fact, the number of local viewers has already passed the 200 million mark for the first time. Miracle in Cell No. 7 attracted more than 10 million people. Eight other movies — The Face Reader, Snowpiercer, Berlin, Secretly Greatly, Hide and Seek, Cold Eyes, and The Terror Live — also led growth in the movie market by drawing over 5 million viewers each.