Thailand poised to emulate Korean Wave’s success, Asia Video Summit reveals

In a foreseeable shift, Thailand is emerging as a hotbed for flourishing content on a scale reminiscent of the highly influential Korean Wave. Such a promising outlook was significantly echoed in the recently concluded Asia Video Summit 2023, organised by Asia Video Industry Association in Hong Kong.

During this gathering, the attendees comprising 180 participants from 22 different nations engaged in e-polls. These participants have significant influence within various industries including TV, streaming, marketing, telecommunication and technology, as well as policy-making and content creation.

In response to the question, “Shortly, which market do you reckon will replicate the regional accomplishments of the Korean content industry?”, the consensus swayed in favour of Thailand, which garnered a 40% vote, followed by Mainland China at 16% and Indonesia at 13%.

Pirongrong Ramasota, currently attached to Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), was one of the eminent speakers in a discussion titled ‘Thailand’s Time’. She pointed out that Thai audio-visual content, having bagged several coveted international awards, was making its mark across various nations, Bangkok Post reported.

Yet, in the face of success, she highlighted the shortcomings that plague Thailand’s content industry. A prime concern for the nation is the lack of strategic support that predominantly stems from inter-agency complications. However, the NBTC is reportedly on board to facilitate discussions among agencies to churn out a mutually agreed direction which will push forward Thai content production and distribution.

In addition, the NBTC is keen on devising strategies to invigorate a competitive ecosystem with fair competition amongst local and international digital spaces, as the current imbalance stands as a roadblock to Thailand’s prospective growth in the content sector.

Pirongrong went on to suggest that viable measures could include light-touch regulation, and encouraging self-regulation or jointly agreed community standards. These measures she believes could serve as crucial steps to overcome the identified hurdles and invest in the promising future of Thailand’s content industry.

In addition to Korean Wave, strategic moves by the KTO are expected to increase the number of Korean tourists visiting Thailand by one million. To read more click HERE.