(Translated Press Article)
"Although Korea is highly regarded as a leader in broadcasting technology, such as the commercialization of the next-generation broadcasting standard ATSC 3.0,artificial intelligence (AI) digital content production is lagging behind. It is not a time to be complacent and assume that we are doing well."
During the media tech open lab event held on June 8th at the Global R&D Center in Pan-Gyo, organized by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the IITP, and KETI, as PM Lee Jun-woo from the IITP pointed out the direction for the research and development of "AI Data-Based Digital Media."
According to the IITP's technology level survey, while the Korea's tech gap from United States in broadcasting and media is half a year, the gap in digital content and AI technology is 1.2 and 1.3 years, respectively.
Korea's strengths in the media content industry include cost competitiveness and potential compared to the production cost. PM Lee stated, "We possess ICT that can respond to global viewers of domestic original content, webtoons, and other content resources, as well as rapidly growing digital markets."
However, the lack of investment capacity from online video streaming service (OTT)companies and production companies is considered a weakness. As a result, global services are inadequate, and there is a lack of experience and burden in localization costs. Moreover, there is a focus on defending the domestic market.
PM Lee emphasized the need for expanding digital utilization to reduce costs and expand global market presence. He highlighted the importance of considering localization such as subtitling, dubbing, pre-visualization, and virtual production to digitize the production process.
Furthermore, he added, "It is necessary to enhance compression technology for large-scale media transmission through AI integration and develop AI technologies for applying 4K-level high-definition media."
Meanwhile, the media tech open lab event focused on the innovation and global strategies of the digital media and content industry. It aimed to promote collaboration and establish a network for cooperative business development by linking research and development institutions in media and content, broadcasting companies, and OTT companies.
The event consisted of keynote speeches, technology exchange sessions, exhibitions, and open lab tours, highlighting the utilization of AI and data for rapidly changing media and content workflows.
Along with the lectures and presentations, technology booths were operated, and an open lab event was conducted. The technology booths, held in the auditorium on the first floor of the Global R&D Center, showcased KETI's ‘realistic media’, ‘human interaction’, and ‘intelligent media technologies’, as well as ‘Twigfarm's AI-based content localization technology’.
Unlike typical technology exchange sessions, the open lab format allowed general participants to freely access the AI and ultra-realistic open studio research labs. The open lab provided opportunities for participants to directly experience and interact with the showcased technologies.
An official from the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "The media tech open lab is a platform for demand-driven companies and research institutions in the media research and development field to communicate with each other." They also mentioned that regular open labs will be held in the future to ensure that government research and development can meet the essential needs of the media and content industry.