Thailand launches new soft-power strategy modeled after global success of Korean pop culture

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Chakrit noted that future projects would be established to empower cultural assets and creative cities, enhance the competitiveness of creative businesses, and enter the global market.

Chakrit Pichyangkul, Executive Director of the Creative Economy Agency (CEA), announced on Monday (29 Aug) that the agency would shift its focus from the domestic market to exporting Thailand’s cultural identity. This would be accomplished by strengthening the creative economy’s people, businesses and locations.

Chakrit noted that future projects would be established to empower cultural assets and creative cities, enhance the competitiveness of creative businesses, and enter the global market.



According to the CEA director, the creative economy, which accounted for 7.5% of Thailand’s GDP and an estimated 900,000 jobs in 2020, is expanding by 1.2% annually.

Chakrit also said the CEA will launch two projects in the 2023 fiscal year, the first of which is a Content Lab to address a dearth of Thai producers and screenwriters. The Content Lab will cultivate emerging talent with the aid of seasoned professionals and match their proposals with investors.



The Metaverse Ecosystem Lab, the CEA’s second project, will meanwhile combine the universities’ understanding of virtual systems and software with the industry’s wealth of equipment and resources to create a domestic metaverse ecosystem.

The agency has also pledged support for the gaming, animation and e-sports industries, insisting that Thailand must capitalize on technological disruptions, citing the advent of digital photography and advanced computer graphics technology as examples.