The Ministry of Culture and Tourism was originally a sub-organization of the
Ministry of Education created in 1948. Later, the Ministry of Transportation set up a tourism department. The Ministry of Information was set up in 1961 for administration of art and cultural affairs. The Ministry of Culture and Information became the Ministry of Culture in 1990. In 1993, the Ministry of Culture was integrated with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to become the Ministry of Culture and Sports. In 1998, as part of government reorganization efforts, the Ministry of Culture and Sports was replaced by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It was created to invest in and support the entertainment industry, as Korea needed new areas of growth in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s. President Kim Dae Jung put forth industrial policies supporting entertainment with the same regard as traditional industrial sectors such as manufacturing. Investments were made in both infrastructure and technology to support K-pop, including concert halls and visual effects technology. In addition, government regulation of karaoke bars favored K-pop. The government believes that promoting Korean pop culture would improve people's view of the country and help with business and tourism. The Ministry developed the
Korea Open Government License (KOGL), a copyright license that allows for the use and distribution of public materials. In 2012 the Ministry established an advisory committee on how to sustain the
Korean wave (Hallyu). In 2013, the Ministry allocated 319 billion won (US$280 million) to support
Hallyu. == Mission and budget ==