As AI Produces Content, the Definition of Talent Is Changing

New Contents Academy Focuses on Projects Over Theory
Breaking Down Boundaries between Planning, Development, and Art to Foster Convergent Talent
Nurturing 'Project Owners' through Hands-On Experience, Not Degrees

Artificial intelligence (AI) is breaking down the traditional division of labor in content production. As ‘one-person producers’ capable of handling everything from planning to development and visual realization emerge, the qualities sought by the industry are rapidly shifting.

New Contents Academy Showcase Site / Korea Creative Content Agency.

According to the Korea Creative Content Agency on August 21, the New Contents Academy is training 100 convergent talents each year who possess both technological and creative capabilities. Moving beyond genre-based courses such as games, broadcasting, and webtoons, the program focuses on the intersection where technology meets content.

In the past, the roles of art director, animator, and developer were clearly distinguished. Now, with the proliferation of generative AI and real-time production technologies, the ability to handle both planning and technology has become essential. This is why the New Contents Academy places greater emphasis on project-based learning than lectures.

The curriculum consists of one year of vocational training and another year of school-industry collaboration. Over six semesters, trainees gradually learn from foundational to practical skills before participating in internships. In the advanced phase, trainees choose two out of four fields: virtual production, virtual visualization, interaction design, and immersive spaces.

The faculty is also composed primarily of field experts. Seongwook Kim, CEO of Native Virtual Production; Changwon Oh, Head of Nextep Studio; and Daekeun Yuk, CEO of DEXA, among others, help trainees with real-world projects. Yeoungeun Oh, Head of Talent Development at the Korea Creative Content Agency, explained, "The industry wants even new hires to have project experience. We design personalized curricula for each trainee so that their learning leads to on-site training and internships."

New Contents Academy Outstanding Trainees Japan Training Site / Korea Creative Content Agency.

Globally, investments in securing talents for extended reality (XR) and immersive content are also active. The UK government has identified XR as a core future technology in its ‘Digital Strategy 2017’, Industrial Strategy White Paper, and Creative Industries Sector Deal. The European Union (EU) is running the ‘XR2Learn’ project, supporting the development of XR educational content utilizing Horizon Europe funding. In two rounds of public offerings carried out in 2023 and 2024, a total of 492 organizations applied.

The Canada Media Fund invests 57 million Canadian dollars annually in the interactive digital media sector. However, while the UK and EU focus on policy and ecosystem creation, and Canada emphasizes production funding, clear pathways linking individual education to employment are relatively lacking. In contrast, the New Contents Academy is distinguished by integrating long-term education, projects, and internships into a single track.

The market growth potential is significant. According to an XR industry report released by the Korea Copyright Commission in 2023, the global XR market is projected to expand nearly tenfold, from USD 3.514 billion in 2022 to USD 34.59 billion by 2030. Samjong KPMG Economic Research Institute has pinpointed AI as the key driving force of the XR industry. As technology that can generate 3D models from simple text input becomes commercialized, it is expected that content production methods themselves will be restructured.

New Contents Academy Outstanding Trainees' Study Abroad in the United States / Korea Creative Content Agency.

Results are already being seen. Nine trainees from the first class of the New Contents Academy worked as interns at Dexter Studio, d’strict, Locus, and WYSIWYG Studios. In the second class, the number of participants increased to 19, and the associated companies expanded to include Dotmill, More Science, VentaX, Stoic Entertainment, Channel A B&C, and EBS. Some trainees transitioned into full-time positions or signed separate contracts after their internships.

Ms. Oh emphasized, "We secure practical experience sites by signing financial business agreements with interested companies prior to placement. Our aim extends beyond simply teaching technology; we are focused on creating job and collaboration opportunities for our trainees."

The quality of trainees' works is also on the rise. In the showcase for the 2024 short-term program, the short film ‘Jealousy on the Roof’ drew attention as it addressed manpower shortages in computer graphics (CG) and visual effects (VFX) production by leveraging AI and real-time game engines.

'Revolutionary Rabbit Hole Adventure' unveiled at the New Content Academy Showcase / Korea Creative Content Agency.

From August 19 until today, the New Contents Academy Showcase was held in the area around the Hongneung Content Talent Campus and Content Culture Plaza in Dongdaemun District, Seoul. Eight teams from the second class of the long-term program and thirteen teams from the third class participated. They presented outcomes that combined technology and ideas, including generative AI content services, XR and virtual reality (VR) experiences, and interactive media art.

Notably, two distinct production methods stood out: solo development and team collaboration. Trainee Jaejin Lee developed ‘GenStereo’, a solution that converts two-dimensional (2D) videos into 3D images through AI agents. He independently completed the entire process, including the engine, authoring tools, and eye-tracking player.

The ‘Recover’ team—comprising trainees Yongwoo Yoo, Arin Jung, and Yeo Jin Hong—presented the first-person XR documentary ‘Revolutionary Rabbit Hole Adventure’, which deals with deepfakes and fake news. The work was designed so that viewers actively question the authenticity of information as they track incidents themselves.

New Contents Academy Showcase Open Stage Scene / Korea Creative Content Agency.

The remaining challenges are scale and cost. Only 100 individuals are trained annually, and a substantial budget is required to establish educational infrastructure such as AI equipment and high-performance PCs. Furthermore, as a non-degree program, it must overcome significant hurdles in recruitment and in stabilizing the system.

The Korea Creative Content Agency has modeled the program after the Korean Film Academy for the long term. Just as directors like Bong Joon-ho emerged from the Korean Film Academy through systematic field training without degrees, the focus is to build up achievements in the industry first.

Kyungbon Koo, Head of the Content Infrastructure Division at the Korea Creative Content Agency, stated, "Talents equipped with new technologies and creative ideas are the driving force behind change and growth in the content industry. We will strengthen our system for nurturing talents that covers education, project execution, and connections with the industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.