The Indian Embassy in Seoul invited Korean media and entertainment firms to the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 on Wednesday.
India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will host the summit in Mumbai May 1-4.
The summit will serve as a global convergence platform for media and entertainment, akin to the World Economic Forum in Davos, with India’s entertainment capital as its permanent venue, according to the embassy.
The initiative is about making India a global hub of content creation, according to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The summit will feature a roundtable discussion with the Indian leader and CEOs, a global media dialogue, B2B/B2G exhibitions, startup accelerator programs, masterclasses, an e-marketplace and cultural performances of stars including rising K-pop idols.
Indian Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnav has launched a $1 billion fund to support creators to access capital, enhance skills, upgrade production and expand globally.
According to Vaishnav, the summit would advance India's soft power through its rich storytelling tradition.
"This will be a major platform for people to understand our culture — how India used to think, how India thinks today, and how India will think tomorrow," he told the reporters in a recent press conference ahead of the summit.
India Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has also underlined that the global shift in economic, political, technological and cultural dynamics creates the need for diverse narratives in globalization.
Speaking at a briefing ahead of the summit, Indian Ambassador to Korea Amit Kumar praised Korea’s entertainment sector and its global influence through K-pop, K-dramas and films, but urged the need to increase awareness of Korean culture among Indians.
"It (Korea) has also successfully leveraged its strength for soft power projection, including through K-pop, K-drama and films ... (However,) Korean cultural content is, not surprisingly, gaining popularity in India,” he pointed out.
"Against this backdrop, I believe that Korean participation at WAVES 2025 will be a useful opportunity,” said Kumar.
India’s media and entertainment sector is rapidly transforming digitally, driven by streaming services, online gaming and digital advertising, and this is why India would not only offer creative collaboration and leverage skilled human resources, but also be equally for business expansion, said Kumar.
A PwC report projects the media and entertainment industry to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.3 percent, hitting $45 billion by 2028. Global entertainment and media revenues grew 5.5 percent in 2022, with the US leading, followed by China and India in second and ninth place, respectively.
The industry is expected to expand to $3.4 trillion by 2028, driven by advertising, streaming and emerging markets.
Experts highlight that generative AI will be crucial for growth, reshaping business and creative models while enhancing value creation through innovation and scalable solutions.
"The AVGC-XR sector is emerging as a key growth driver," said Kumar, underlining that India is to establish the Indian Institute for Immersive Creators in Mumbai to train a skilled talent pool for animation, gaming and extended reality.
"We look forward to Korean partnership in this initiative," Kumar urged.
In response to a question from an official at Hybe Corp., the South Korean global entertainment company, about the details of the Indian companies attending, Kumar said that it was a work in progress but emphasized that networking, talent and new market opportunities create a favorable environment for companies like Hybe to explore India.
He also noted that India’s film industry produces hundreds of films annually and is gaining international recognition also in South Korea, pointing to India’s emergence as a hub for audiovisual co-production.
India has the world's largest film industry by production volume, releasing 1,500-2,000 films annually in over 20 languages and employing over 850,000 people, according to media reports.
"On average, 35-40 foreign film projects are granted permission for shooting and production in India," said Kumar.
When asked whether a Korea Pavilion led by KOCA (Korea Creative Content Agency) would be set up at the Summit like the K-Content Expo in India 2024, the ambassador said that if many Korean companies participate, the embassy can coordinate with KOCA to have one.
Meanwhile, Sanjana Arya, director of the Indian Cultural Center, described the summit as the world’s first convergence platform for the media and entertainment industry.
"The summit will bridge traditional and emerging media, foster global partnerships and leverage cultural heritage through key initiatives," she said.
"We hope to have substantial participation from here (Korea) at the first-ever WAVES Summit this year," she said, citing Korea as a global powerhouse in media and entertainment.
sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com
