FICCI FRAMES 2013: 30% cash rebate for Indian films shot In Korea

The 14th chapter of Asia’s foremost Conclave on Media & Entertainment - FICCI Frames opened in Mumbai today. FICCI Frames 2013 has partnered with Korea, the content powerhouse,  a nation that has come a long way and is now branded as ‘Asia’s coolest country’ with its popular K Pop sensations including Psy, the Korean wave (a term coined by the Chinese) has taken over the world.

FICCI FRAMES 2013 hosted a panel discussion on increasing the Media and Entertainment business between India and Korea, led by Biren Ghose with various distinguished guests including Hangon Kim, Vice President, KOCCA, Mr. Jonathan Hyong-Joon Kim, Executive Advisor, CJ E&M, Mr. Kum-Pyoung Kim, Director, Korean Cultural Centre, India,  Mr. Charles Lim, Deputy Director, Korea Tourism Organisation,  Mr. Harry Yoon, Vice President, Ms. Samg Ani, Mr. Vijay Shankar, MD, Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services (KBITS).

Gracing the session and encouraging the exchange of business between the 2 countries, the Ambassador of Korea, His Excellency Mr. Joon-Gyu-Lee said, “We are in talks with the Indian government and are at the final stage of negotiating a co-production agreement on audio visual product. I am very happy to be here with the stalwarts from Korea and delighted that the two countries are interacting and discussing business opportunities. I’d like to encourage the businessmen from both the countries to continue and cultivate this engagement.”

Speaking on the current state of exchange of content between India and Korea, Mr .Hangon Kim, Vice President, KOCCA said, “Korea is actively fostering content and aiming to become a creative content driven economy. The Korean film industry is a major contributor to the GDP of the country, with an ROI of 13%, it is the one if the most viable businesses in the country. A solid infrastructure for content expansion has helped us achieve a stable environment for foreign investment. India as a content market is rapidly growing, with an average scale of 14.3% the gap between India and Korea content market (which is growing at an avg of 4.2%) is getting smaller.”

Vijay Shankar- MD, Government of Karnataka, the first state in the country to introduce a policy on Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics said, “Bangalore has been the epicentre of IT revolution. We have a lot plans for this year that include starting digital art centres, PPP projects and joint venture with foreign collaborators. We are also very keen to ensure that there is a permanent linkage with Korea. This will immensely benefit the youth of both the nations.

The Korea Tourism Organisation which now has 2 offices, 1 in Delhi and now one in Mumbai. The organisation aims at promoting Korea as the new film destination. The country is providing Indian film shot in Korea liberal subsidies including a massive 30% rebate on local film cost incurred while shooting the movie there.  With such subsidies and Indian government’s support both the countries can engage with each other through various tools including coproduction through remakes, sharing locations, government t subsidies, exchange programmes.