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“Thailand, South Korea, Japanese and Taiwan have enough experience of learning English that we should be able to use that to upgrade our know-how and methods”said. “So it is so easy for us to start to understand each other. And for the world, Asian culture is really just great content.”Mr Yang stressed the importance of government engagement. The South Korean government has been praised for its role in jump-starting and nurturing the local creative economy, especially the entertainment industry. Its success has been well crafted at a policy level. Years ago the Korean government signed a trade agreement with Japan that led to content sharing, joint production and licensing between the countries. A similar agreement has recently been made with China, an arrangement that provides $200 million in funds, paid for by the two governments, for content developmentprojects and joint productions. “This type of bilateral agreement and communication can spur new ideas. There were trade agreements between Japan and Korea, then China and Korea, and hopefully Thailand and Korea. Such collaborations enable countries to swap cultural and creative content.”Mr Yang has already spotted some marketable content across Asia. Thailand’s urban legends of heroes and kings, for example, might be interesting for television adaptations in neighbouring countries. Other content that local publishers should focus on is educational materials, especially for teaching and learning English. RH Korea has been focusing on such material. As countrieswith English as a second language, “Thailand, South Korea, Japanese and Taiwan have enough experience of learning English that we should be able to use that to upgrade our know-how and methods”, he said. He predicts that English and Mandarin will become the two main avenues for communication among Asians.Mr Yang’s passion for content provision is not limited to business start-ups and technology. As president of the APPA, he stresses the impor- tance of providing good content for children. One of his ideas is modernizing the libraries of member countries. He hopes to provide technical solutions through his newly formed company, Tabon Books, which helps digitize content and makeElite+ 7


































































































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