Music-Centred Urban Development of Tongyeong: How a coastal city tuned economic revival with music

written by idkblanco | 6 min read

South Korea's music industry operates within one of the most advanced creative industries globally, contributing billions to the state's GDP each year and sustaining hundreds of thousands of jobs. Following the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the South Korean government acknowledged that traditional manufacturing could no longer guarantee economic resilience. As a result, it reoriented its growth strategy toward the cultural industries as export commodities and instruments of soft power. This reorientation aligned with national development strategies such as Segyehwa (globalisation) and the Creative Economy Framework, which sought to merge technology, innovation, and culture to expand South Korea’s global influence.

Cultural Policy as Industrial Strategy

The rise of South Korea’s music industry was deliberate and policy-engineered. Key institutions such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), and the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE) were established to implement a coherent national content strategy and played a key role in matching finance to creative production. The Basic Law for Cultural Industries' Promotion (1999), predecessor to KOCCA, laid the legal groundwork for state investment in creative industries, while the government’s Hallyu Export Strategy positioned K-pop and popular culture as central to national branding. Partnerships with conglomerates like CJ ENM, Hyundai, and Samsung facilitated the commercial and technological expansion of Korean entertainment worldwide.

Tongyeong: Localising National Cultural Policy

Tongyeong offers a compelling case study of how national cultural strategy can be localised for regional development. Designated a UNESCO City of Music in 2015, Tongyeong leveraged its musical heritage and government support to establish itself as a cultural and economic hub. The ISANGYUN Competition and the 10-day Tongyeong International Music Festival (TIMF), supported by national and municipal funding, became flagship projects, with TIMF attracting an audience of over 20,000 every year. Infrastructure investments, such as the state-of-the-art Tongyeong Concert Hall, catalysed tourism, SME growth, and community revitalisation. By coordinating local investments with national funding streams and international outreach, the city positioned itself to claim a global niche: a site of serious music-making that could host international tourism, residency programmes and professional competitions. This transformation demonstrates how music-centred policies can trigger economic regeneration in regions previously dependent on industrial or maritime economies.

Music as diplomatic and economic capital

Beyond domestic gains, South Korea’s use of music as soft power has been a cornerstone of its global diplomacy. The global spread of K-pop, coupled with cultural exports in film and television, reframed South Korea’s global identity from a war-torn state to a modern cultural leader. Government-led initiatives, such as Korean Cultural Centres abroad and participation in UNESCO programmes, expanded Korea’s diplomatic footprint. The measurable outcomes have been impressive. Cultural exports exceeded $12 billion in 2023, and South Korea’s national brand value consistently ranks among the top 10 globally.

IP and Cultural protection: Regulatory levers and limits

One enabling condition for a vibrant music sector is working IP architecture. Korea developed a relatively mature collective management system through copyright bodies such as the Korean Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) and strengthened enforcement mechanisms to ensure that creators received royalties and that intermediaries could operate with confidence. These systems improved the economic viability of professional songwriting, recording, and publishing. In 2023, KOMCA was ranked the world’s ninth biggest collector of music royalties, collecting around $327 million. According to the IFPI, K-pop was the leading global genre in physical and digital music sales in 2024. The genre also had 17 placements out of a possible 20 on the Global Album Sales Chart in the same year.

It is also important to situate this contemporary success within Korea’s political history. During the authoritarian decades, particularly under Park Chung-hee (1961-1979) and Chun Doo-hwan (1980-1988), the state applied broad censorship and media controls that targeted politically sensitive material and objectionable foreign cultural influences; these measures were primarily instruments of political control and social regulation. At the same time, the state implemented protectionist cultural policies, which had the incidental effect of creating sheltered domestic markets for local producers. After South Korea's democratisation in 1987, these protectionist measures were gradually liberalised. When Kim Young-sam ascended to the presidency in 1993, the nation's hallyu industries started maturing as the policy emphasis shifted toward export promotion and market integration.

In retrospect, Korea’s early censorship and protectionist posture was primarily a political phenomenon with secondary industrial effects. Gradually, policy evolved so that protectionist instruments were replaced or recalibrated into transparent industrial support (grants, export promotion, rights administration) that helped domestic creators scale globally while operating under a firmer rights-management regime.

Multi-level governance and intersectoral integration

In hindsight, Tongyeong’s success is rooted in a polycentric governance model that connects municipal planning, national subsidies, private investors, and international networks. Collaboration between national ministries and local governments helped align urban planning, education, and tourism strategies with cultural policy objectives. This integration was exemplified in cross-sectoral programmes linking music education to cultural promotion, such as the TIMF Academy programme, or creative business grants tied to local entrepreneurship development. The result was a coherent value chain, spanning composer training, venue programming, audience development, and international distribution, supported by shared targets and joint funding instruments. UNESCO’s international platform further strengthened these networks, positioning Tongyeong as a node in the global creative network. 

Strategic cultural policy as a growth engine

All in all, South Korea’s cultural ascent was not accidental. It was the result of strategic foresight, intersectoral coordination, and political commitment. By treating culture as both an identity asset and an economic engine, South Korea built a model of development that merges soft power with hard economics. For South Africa, the lesson is clear. Treat music as a diplomatic and economic asset, invest in structured and long-term engagement, and ensure every cultural exchange strengthens both international influence and the local music economy.