Korea-ASEAN to Discuss Cultural IP Cooperation at Cultural Innovation Forum in Philippines on Nov. 7

Exploring ways to protect creators’ rights and expand the value of cultural content
Four sessions focus on policy, industry, cooperation and youth

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on November 5 that it will host the 2026 Korea-ASEAN Cultural Innovation Forum on November 7 at the Ayala Museum in Manila, the Philippines, together with the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange.

The forum is part of the Korea-ASEAN Future Innovation Cultural Exchange Support Project (PIC). The project was launched in 2020 after the need for sustained cultural exchange between the two sides was raised in connection with events including the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit. It is now in its seventh year. A total of 53 people will attend the forum, including 30 representatives from the public sector, 15 from industry and eight from academia, from Korea and all 11 ASEAN member states. In addition to the forum, an exhibition titled “Gathering, Connecting” will be held at the Ayala Museum from November 7 to 13, and the Korea-ASEAN Cultural Innovation Working Group will meet at the New World Makati Hotel on November 8.

The forum’s key theme this year is “cultural intellectual property (IP).” As digitalization and advances in artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transform the environment for creating and distributing cultural content, participants will discuss ways to cooperate in protecting creators’ rights and expanding the cultural and industrial value of their works.

Under the theme “Creative Sovereignty and the Value of Imagination,” the forum will feature a keynote address and discussions in four sessions covering policy, industry, cooperation and youth. Changseop Kim, deputy head of Nexon Korea’s MapleStory Division, will deliver the keynote address, sharing his experience and perspectives on the expansion of creativity and intellectual property.

The policy session will address policy and institutional challenges in building a sustainable cultural IP ecosystem. Jonathan Tan, director of the Culture and Information Division at the ASEAN Secretariat, will moderate. Participants will include Indonesian intellectual property lawyer Ari Juliano Gema, former director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines Josephine Lima Santiago, and Yang Jihoon, associate research fellow at the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.

The industry session will examine how cultural ideas are realized as content and developed into industrial value, with examples from across the region. Le Quoc Vinh, chairman of Vietnamese media company Le Group; Yeo Lay Kuan, founder of Singaporean content production company Ochre Pictures; and Myanmar film producer Peter Yapp will share their experiences.

The cooperation session will explore opportunities for cross-border collaboration through cultural IP. Participants will include Zainol Hakim, chief executive officer of Malaysia’s MyCreative Ventures Group; representatives of Timor-Leste’s traditional weaving association; and Ko Young-kyung, research professor at Yonsei University.

In the youth session, Filipino actor and singer Elijah Canlas will share his experience as a young creator. The Korea-ASEAN Youth Team, made up of young people from Korea, Brunei, Indonesia and Cambodia, will present ideas for the responsible use of cultural IP and for cooperation.

The exhibition “Gathering, Connecting” will feature works by eight artists from five countries, including Korea’s Kim Jun and artists from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Their works will explore how everyday ideas and cultural experiences can lead to new creations and value. At the Korea-ASEAN Cultural Innovation Working Group meeting, representatives of 13 cultural and creative organizations from Korea and all 11 ASEAN member states will share their organizations’ cooperation needs and discuss key cooperation priorities for 2027 and ways to build connections among the organizations. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to develop the working group into a platform for sustained exchanges among cultural institutions in Korea and ASEAN.

A ministry official said, “Cultural IP is an important foundation for protecting creators’ imaginations while generating new cultural and industrial value. We hope this event will help cultural institutions in Korea and ASEAN jointly identify practical areas for cooperation and build lasting partnerships.”

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