Report

Institute for Future Strategy, Seoul National University — Global Korea Cluster
2nd-Year Report
“An Open Network National Strategy for Economic Prosperity”

The Global Korea Cluster seeks to move beyond fragmented knowledge and domains, emphasizing holistic (wholeness-based) insights that integrate industry (富), culture (文), and security (武) into a coherent national strategy. This report analyses how these three dimensions interact and generate synergistic effects that can sustain Korea’s long-term prosperity and leadership in the international community.

From the industrial strategy perspective, the strategy of prosperity (富) aims to expand and connect the nation’s economic space through global innovation zones and production zones. This approach forms the foundation for both cultural vitality and defense capability. Domestically, the cluster proposes the concept of innovation zones that drive creative industries through planning, design, R&D, and marketing. Internationally, it advances the “Multiple Hub & Spoke” model, positioning Korea as the central hub connected through trade and logistics to production bases around the world. Specifically, the report proposes the “7 Hub Plus 4” framework to guide this strategy. Moreover, Korea should play an active role not only in global production bases—the workplaces of the world—but also in building resting spaces such as leisure, resort, and entertainment complexes that complement global industrial zones.

The cultural strategy (文) highlights Korea’s role in shaping new currents of content industries and global cultural movements through both online and offline platforms. Universal, world-class popular culture serves as a source of soft power, contributing to both economic prosperity and diplomatic security. In the digital era, Korea must build an open popular-culture platform grounded in differentiated creative competitiveness. The government’s role should not be that of a strict rule-maker but of a facilitator that establishes open spaces for participation, provides the necessary infrastructure, and ensures reliability and trust in the system. The private sector, in turn, should lead the operational strategies of such platforms, produce substantial content, and offer continuous feedback to enhance their functionality and sustainability.

The security strategy (武) focuses on managing security risks that could threaten Korea’s open innovation and cultural ecosystems. Security serves as the precondition for economic and cultural prosperity, while also contributing to industrial and technological advancement through defense and high-tech collaboration. To anchor global innovation, production, and cultural networks with Korea as their headquarters, minimizing security risks is crucial. As China’s expanding maritime power increasingly challenges the sea-lane security once guaranteed by U.S. hegemony, Korea must reinforce its security partnership with the United States. This includes military support for U.S. naval operations in the Indo-Pacific, participation in shipbuilding, docking, and maintenance cooperation. On the multilateral level, Korea should work with nations upholding the values of free trade in the Indo-Pacific by conducting joint maritime exercises with countries situated at strategic choke points and by establishing dedicated maritime security councils to institutionalize cooperation.

Keywords:
Global Korea, wholeness, innovation zones, Multiple Hub & Spoke production model, supply chain, popular culture platform, soft power, maritime security, Korea–U.S. alliance, Indo-Pacific, defense industry cooperation