• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.32
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• pp.189-220
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• 2013

It is expected that interests and supports for 'the creative economy' will increase considerably since the establishment of the Park Geun Hye Administration. According to a report with respect to its cultural policy handed in by the Minister of Culture to the president on March 28, 2013, the administration will set up a basic plan of establishing regional fusion-typed laboratories including such genres as story telling, animations, games, cartoons, performances, etc. in May this year, and opening contents Korea laboratories across the country by the first quarter in 2014 as part of its core task. Furthermore, it will focus on implementing such policies for training professional manpower as creative mentoring programs, expansion of education for field employees and expansion of a creative education for young students, including a plan to train 1,000 creative contents talents by 2017 as described in the report. Since the Comics Promotional Law took effect in August 2012, the Korea Culture and Content Agency and the Comics Industry have been establishing the third plan for medium and long term development of the comics industry together. One of the most important policy is about training professional manpower. "Joint Business with Creative Talents," in which the amount of 4.5 billion won was invested, has already been implemented, and "Support Business for Field Employees of Comics Creating Enterprises," in which the amount of 0.6 billion won was invested, has been performed so far through the Korea Comics Contents Agency upon the request of the Comics Industry. The government's plan to train professional manpower is interlocked with its foundation and employment policies, and thus, this will be a good opportunity for colleges and universities that have comics related majors, especially for those that need proper measures for bring their graduates a chance to get a job. Accordingly, it seems that if the government develops more aggressive policies, reflects this on the third medium and long term development plan of the comics industry, and then organizes policy and study meetings led by the learned societies to implement this, it will be able to generate a significant synergy effect. This Article will concentrate on first examining the flow and patterns of the policy to train special manpower by the comics industry, the Ministry of Culture and related institutions since the establishment of the Comics Promotional Law, analyzing some problems in the first and second medium and long term development plan of the comics industry to be implemented from 2003 through 2013 and the third medium and long term development plan to be announced in June 2013 to train professional manpower, and then suggesting an effective direction and some alternatives to train professional manpower in universities in a medium and long term way.