The Korean Cultural Centre UK in London Presented ‘K-Culture Forum’ at the RSA

The Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCCUK) hosted the ‘K-Culture Forum’ on (Mon) 9 June 2025, at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in London. In the era defined by uncertainty and transformation, the forum explored the status of Korean culture — characterized by ‘Digitally, Boldly, Korean’ — and proposed new directions for Korea's soft power.

“We define K-culture as a new cultural heritage, created by a variety of people around the world, expressing its true meaning in a ‘digitally, boldly, Korean’ way. Through the ‘Korean Culture, Now! Campaign’, Korea is in a position to showcase its vision and aesthetics as a cultural powerhouse leading the new digital culture.” said Dr. Seunghye Sun, Director of the Korean Cultural Center UK.

The forum started with keynote presentations and a panel discussion with leading figures in the Korean Wave(Hallyu), followed by an Open Forum with leading experts and emerging leaders from the fields of arts and culture, business, digital content, and education.

Part I: TALK – Rethinking K-Culture in the Digital Age

In part 1, participants explored the possibility of continuous expansion of the Korean Wave from various angles, focusing on the core question of “How is a new culture born in the digital age”.

Dr. Seunghye Sun, a Director of the Korean Cultural Centre UK, attributed the global spread of the Korean Wave to the ‘emotional affinity of Korean aesthetics’ that flows beneath Korean cultural heritage and connects hearts. She interpreted this emotional affinity as ‘inclusiveness’. She emphasized K-culture in the digital age as ‘a cultural heritage of inclusiveness that expands through emotional connection’. Specifically, she argued that ‘inclusiveness’ merges the traditional cultural heritage question of “how did the past reach the current status” with a new question of “how are the present and future connected?”

Seungkyu Ryan Lee, co-founder of Pinkfong Company behind the global phenomenon 'Baby Shark,’ presented how K-content has captivated the world and suggested the future of the Korean Wave from a business perspective. He emphasized the strategies of Pinkfong Company as three key elements of ‘variation’, ‘expansion’, and ‘exploration.’ He looked beyond the next wave of Korean culture, which will be followed by ‘Hallyu 1.0’ which began with the global expansion of Korean artists and K-pop groups, and ‘Hallyu 2.0’, which highlighted K-pop and K-content through digital platforms like YouTube and Netflix.

Dr. Dobin Choi, the first Korean to be appointed as a lecturer of Korean and Comparative Philosophy at Leiden University, explored the philosophical and cultural foundations of Korean culture by examining the defining features of Korean identity. He argued that Korean culture is significantly shaped by an intellectual tradition characterized by what he terms “paradoxical dynamics”—the simultaneous and passionate pursuit of both universal values and a distinct self-identity. These paradoxical dynamics underpin Korean pop culture’s dual appeal: it resonates with global audiences through artistic qualities that possess both universal appeal and unique particularity.

Part II: OPEN FORUM – The Future of Korean Culture

The second part continued with the discussion on the topics raised during the panel talk and Q&A. It facilitated a rich exchange of ideas on the future trajectory of Korean culture and its global resonance. Often the questions of ‘What would the next Hallyu look like’ and ‘Is Korean culture sustainable in this new era’ were discussed.

The VR experience project of the KCCUK <Timescape> was specially presented with two main projects ‘Immersive Korea’ and ‘Sacred Space.’ In collaboration with the National Museum of Korea, ‘Immersive Korea’ presents ‘Royal Procession with the People’ and ‘Endless Mountains and Rivers: A Prosperous World Unfolds in Nature’ as VR content. Also, in collaboration with Technology Research Institute for Culture and Heritage, ‘Sacred Space’ presented an inaugural content of ‘One Moon, A Thousand Rivers’ and ‘VR Seokguram.’

The K-Culture Forum positioned Korean culture not merely as a global trend but as a cultural inflection point. It aimed to offer critical insight into the evolving identity, uniqueness, and international potential of Korean culture.

For the full video of K-Culture Forum, please click this link: https://youtu.be/gWLDqtwmdP8?si=g93Amytrki1dlTs1