Government to Provide Up to 300 Million Won Annually in Support for Small K-Pop Agencies to Facilitate Global Expansion

The government is actively supporting small agencies, which form the backbone of the K-pop industry, in expanding their operations overseas to ensure sustainable growth in this sector.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency announced on the 16th that they will launch a new program titled “Support for Small Agencies’ Global Leap” this year. A total of 10 groups were selected as the first recipients of this support, including RESCENE, xikers, TUNEXX, KIIRAS, can't be blue, 82MAJOR, BIG OCEAN, YOUTHSPEAR,XEIN, and 8TURN.

These selected agencies will receive up to approximately 300 million won per year in funding, with the possibility of continuous support for up to three years based on performance evaluations. This measure is aimed at addressing the severe imbalance within South Korea’s popular music industry.

As of 2023, large agencies spent an average of 43.11 billion won annually on music production, while small agencies spent only 1.49 billion won, resulting in a gap of nearly 29 times. Additionally, large agencies held 83.4 overseas performances per year, compared to just 4 by small agencies, showing a difference of over 20 times.

The government plans to alleviate these structural issues through this program. It moves beyond previous fragmented support systems that focused on individual areas such as album production and concerts, allowing each agency to allocate budgets autonomously according to its own strategies and needs.

The areas covered by the support include producing albums and music videos for export, conducting local marketing and promotion overseas, and organizing performances abroad—all essential elements for global expansion.

The 10 groups selected this year will utilize this support to advance their respective global strategies. RESCENE will intensify its activities in Japan and the United States and is scheduled to perform at the international K-pop festival “KCON LA 2026” in August. xikers, considered the junior group to ATEEZ, will target the Japanese market by releasing mini-albums and launching unit projects.

Some groups are also focused on exploring emerging markets. TUNEXX, which made its official debut in March this year, plans to hold a special performance in Mumbai, India, and shoot a music video there to build connections with the Indian market. KIIRAS will hold a showcase in Malaysia and conduct fan meetings in 10 cities across seven Asian countries.

The band can't be blue is pursuing growth through global platforms by being officially selected for Spotify’s emerging artist support program, “Spotify Radar.”

Choi Sung-hee, head of the Content Media Industry Division at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “Although K-pop has become a mainstream culture worldwide, sustainable growth requires the development of small agencies, which are the backbone of the industry. I hope that through this new program, another ‘miracle of small agencies’ will emerge to drive K-pop’s future.”