News

 

 

media release – embargoed until 5pm 21 April 2008

 

21 April 2008

 

Agreement to Grow Digital Industries

The growing business collaboration between Korea and New Zealand’s digital content sector has been acknowledged and will be strengthened by the signing today of a memorandum of understanding between the Gyeonggi Digital Contents Agency (GDCA) and Grow Wellington.

Both agencies expect the agreement to bring benefits to the film, television, games, and digital content industries in their respective regions.

GDCA is the agency in Korea’s Gyeonggi Province formed to support its growing digital content industry, encompassing animation, game, film, and various forms of digital content. GDCA provides support to the whole range of digital content production from planning to marketing.

Grow Wellington is New Zealand’s economic development agency for the greater Wellington region. It works for and with businesses in order to grow the region’s exports. In particular, it is developing world-leading centres of excellence in four areas where Wellington has achieved international renown for innovation and excellence – one of the best-known being screen and digital technologies.

The memorandum of understanding will be signed by Byung-Heon Kim, President of GDCA. Mr Kim said “Gyeonggi Provincial Government is committed to building a strong, vibrant and sustainable creative and digital industry in the region, supported by world-class filmmakers and creators, diverse locations and cultural technologies.”

He also emphasised that GDCA has strategically created a wide range of cultural clusters based on infrastructure and business environments in the region. For example, GDCA is playing a key role in developing the Hallyu-Wood project that builds on cultural-tourism based infrastructure and facilities such as a theme park, studios, and cultural business precinct.

Mr Kim said “I am delighted that Gyeonggi Province will have such a strong connection with highly experienced organisations in New Zealand with international production and post-productions. It will be a great opportunity for both regions to learn from each other.”

In signing for Grow Wellington, Acting Chief Executive Suse Reynolds said there had already been productive collaborations between the Korean and New Zealand film industries. For example Laundry Warrior, an English-language martial arts action film is currently in post-production at Park Road Post Production in Wellington. The production team includes producers Barrie Osborne and Jooick Lee, and director Sangmoo Lee.

“There are huge opportunities for introducing digital creative companies to each other, to develop more joint projects, and to exchange ideas, information and skills,” Ms Reynolds said.

“The opportunities will be strengthened through this region-to-region agreement to further develop partnerships and work to promote each other as world-class associations of digital media communities.”

Ms Reynolds said the memorandum of understanding between the Gyeonggi and Wellington regions reinforces the national bi-lateral audiovisual co-operation agreement signed between New Zealand and Korea in 2005 and is in the spirit of the co-production arrangement in development between the two countries.

end

 

for more information contact –

Jinny Park

Assistant Manager, Global business

Gyeonggi Digital Contents Agency & Gyeonggi Film Commission

Office +82 32 623 8077

Mobile +82 10 7294 0612

Suse Reynolds

Acting Chief Executive

Grow Wellington

DDI +64 4 494 2550

Mobile +64 21 490 974

 

Editor’s Note:

The signing of the MOU will take place at 5pm, Monday 21 April, in the boardroom of Grow Wellington
L9, Baldwins Centre

342 Lambton Quay

Wellington