Cultural technology

Cultural technology (Hangul: 문화기술); CT) or cultural contents technology(Hangul: 문화콘텐츠기술) is a concept popularized by Lee Soo-man, founder of the South Korean music label and talent agency S. M. Entertainment. It is a 3-step process of exporting K-pop overseas as part of the Korean Wave.

During a speech at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2011, Lee claimed that he coined the term "Cultural technology" about fourteen years ago, when S.M. decided to launch its artists and cultural content throughout Asia. He also mentioned that although the age of information technology had dominated most of the nineties, he had predicted that the age of "Cultural technology" would come next.

Despite Lee's relatively recent claims that he coined the term, the abstract concept of cultural technology (CT) as a type of content-based industry was introduced in Korean academic circles in the late 1990s by , a computer scientist who later found the Graduate School of Culture Technology at KAIST. Cultural technology has also been one of the 6 "technology" initiatives of the South Korean government since 2001 [the other 5 T's are information technology (IT), biotechnology (BT), nanotechnology (NT), environmental/energy technology (ET), and space technology (ST)}. The South Korean government supports these six industries through policies and R&D investment among others because the country lacks in natural resources. In regards to cultural technology, the Korean Wave or Hallyu, is considered one of the most successful outcomes of government support towards exports of Korean entertainment products.

“One of the elements of CT ["Cultural technology"] is our training system.
Through auditions, we discover hidden talent and put them through
three to seven years of music, dance, and acting training in order to
create a star that’s close to perfection.

Step one involves scouting for trainees via global auditions. After screening a few selected applicants, the company operates the simulation of how the voice and the appearance of the trainees would change in three to seven years. Then, they go through the company’s nurturing system called "In-house training".

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