In search of Vietnam's Cultural-industry unicorns

Cultural industries are increasingly seen as a new growth engine for the economy.

To turn this into reality, Vietnam first needs a clear line between "culture" and "cultural industries." Cultural industries derive large-scale valuation from original creation (innovation), IP exploitation, and content-driven value chains, with the end goal of exporting Vietnamese culture globally and building enterprises that can compete on the world stage.

This was the thrust of Đinh Bá Thành's presentation at the mid-year review conference on culture, sports and tourism, and the priorities for the second half of 2026, held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Minister Lâm Thị Phương Thanh attended, along with former Minister Nguyễn Văn Hùng, Deputy Ministers Nguyễn Huy Dũng, Tạ Quang Đông, Trịnh Thị Thủy, Phan Tâm, and Hồ An Phong, plus leadership from the Ministry's units and from provinces and cities nationwide.

The conference was livestreamed to 34 connection points across provinces and cities, plus two at the Ministry's representative offices in Đà Nẵng and Ho Chi Minh City.

From cultural preservation to a cultural industry

The presentation by DatVietVAC's founding Chairman, titled "Driving the growth of cultural industries: contributing to double-digit growth from a business perspective," drew a distinction between culture and cultural industries. These are two closely linked concepts that carry different missions in national development.

When cultural value gets converted into products, services and business ecosystems, it spreads Vietnamese identity abroad and generates revenue, jobs and national competitiveness.

The presentation by the founding chairman of DatVietVAC was titled "Driving the growth of cultural industries: contributing to double-digit growth from a business perspective". Photo: Duong Trieu.

Mr. Đinh Bá Thành framed culture as a field requiring investment to preserve the nation's foundation. Cultural industries, by contrast, are what turn cultural value into money: revenue, assets and economic power.

The decisive factor in cultural-industry value is intellectual property. A creative product that stops at release has a short lifespan. But if a company owns the IP and the exploitation rights, that value can expand across multiple sectors, forming a high-margin business ecosystem.

This point was echoed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bùi Hoài Sơn, standing member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Society, who noted that long-term value lies in owning the original idea, holding exploitation rights, being able to extend the product into other markets, and building a derivative ecosystem around a single piece of IP.

The ambition to take Vietnamese culture global

To illustrate the potential, the presentation drew on South Korea's experience, widely regarded as the model for turning culture into an economic driver.

K-pop, Korean film and television were once seen mainly as entertainment products. Today, Korea's K-culture content industry functions much like its semiconductor industry: a core, new growth engine for the national economy.

Mr. Dinh Ba Thanh likened culture to a field that needs investment to preserve the foundation of the nation. Photo: Duong Trieu.

Getting there required several transformations happening at once. The first was a shift in how people engage with cultural products. Content used to serve pure entertainment needs; now cultural products are woven into global consumption itself. Fans don't just watch, listen or follow idols. They participate in an entire cultural ecosystem spanning shopping, travel, fashion, food and community activities.

Alongside that came the aggressive application of AI across the entire content value chain, not just aiding creation, but powering production, distribution, audience-behavior analysis, and consumption optimization at global scale.

Another key move was steering cultural products into a wide range of consumer categories, generating substantial economic value.

Korea's success shows that the biggest value in a cultural industry isn't a single film, song or performance. It's the ability to turn a piece of IP into a globally resonant consumption ecosystem.

One of the clearest proof points is HYBE, Korea's leading entertainment group. Founded in 2005 and listed on the KOSPI, HYBE now carries a market cap of roughly $9.6 billion, with 2025 revenue of about $1.77 billion. Its focus: building IP, developing content, and cultivating fandom ecosystems.

This marks the fundamental break between the traditional business model and the modern cultural industry. The biggest value doesn't sit in factories or hard assets. It sits in content, IP ownership, user data and fan communities.

DatVietVAC's representative believes Vietnam can build a similar ecosystem shaped by its own cultural identity. The goal isn't just domestic hits, it's turning "Make in Vietnam" IP into cultural products capable of winning international markets.

The cultural industry has the potential to transform cultural values ​​into money, revenue, assets, and economic power.

That requires building a multi-sensory, multi-platform, cross-industry consumption experience, with cultural content as the core connecting different sectors.

Toward "cultural-industry unicorns"

Drawing on international experience, Korea's model in particular, DatVietVAC's Chairman argued Vietnam now has a real opportunity to build large-scale content and cultural-industry enterprises capable of competing internationally.

But turning that potential into reality takes more than corporate effort. It needs a strong enough policy framework.

The presentation stressed that if international financial centers and hi-tech zones get dedicated mechanisms to attract investment and drive growth, cultural industries deserve an equivalent policy push. This isn't just about supporting a sector, it's investing in a field capable of generating major added value, lifting national competitiveness, and projecting Vietnam's image abroad.

The presentation proposed a "360-degree assessment mechanism" to identify outstanding content and cultural-industry enterprises capable of leading the market and approaching a $1 billion valuation, gradually forming Vietnam's own "cultural-industry content unicorns."

Mr. Dinh Ba Thanh proposed the need to form two cultural and content industry centers in the cultural and entertainment capitals of Seoul (Korea) and Los Angeles (USA).

To make selection criteria concrete, the presentation proposed a framework for a National Brand in Content and Cultural Industries, built on three core capability groups.

The first group covers content production and ownership capacity, rooted in IP built from original creation. Under this, a company should generate roughly VND 3,000 billion (about $115 million) in annual revenue, have at least 10 years of operating history, and maintain a presence across more than 30% of cultural-industry sub-sectors.

Beyond revenue scale, the company must directly create, own and commercially exploit at least 5 "Make in Vietnam" IPs, and produce and own at least 50% of total "Make in Vietnam" IP content hours on the market for three consecutive years.

Another benchmark: the company should hold 50% of total views and listens for three straight years among top-tier (blockbuster) entertainment programs, with 100% of its blockbuster products holding the No. 1 spot on YouTube, Spotify, TikTok and Google Search rankings, and leading social media discussion.

These criteria are meant to confirm that a company genuinely holds the creative, production and market-leading capability behind Vietnamese-branded products, not just distribution rights.

The second group centers on technology application and digital asset development. A qualifying company needs to own and operate a cross-border Vietnamese content distribution platform active on international social networks, apply AI across the entire value chain from creation through distribution and consumption, and reach at least 20% of Vietnam's monthly internet users (MAU).

It must also prove it can commercialize its IP, generating at least 25% value-added on total revenue from production, distribution and IP exploitation.

The third group focuses on maximizing commercial value, exports and international cooperation: strategic partnerships or joint ventures with global players in cultural industries, and contributions to promoting Vietnam's image through film, concerts and cultural products released in international markets.

Once enterprises meet all these criteria, Vietnam will have built a cohort of flagship companies able to compete with regional and global cultural-industry conglomerates.

To get there, the presentation offered several policy recommendations.

The game show market in particular, and the music market in general, in Vietnam is experiencing fierce competition, but the appeal of "Anh trai say hi"shows no signs of diminishing.

First, production-support policy through tax incentives that make it easier for companies to invest in content creation.

Second, support for investment and content exports, focused on high-value-add sectors like film, music and concerts.

Third, a mechanism for valuing IP as an asset class, so IP can be appraised, traded, used to raise capital and commercially exploited, the way it already works in developed economies.

Fourth, stronger copyright protection, with fast-track enforcement mechanisms in line with international practice, to build a healthy competitive environment and protect creators' rights.

The presentation also proposed establishing two content and cultural-industry hubs in the world's two entertainment capitals, Seoul and Los Angeles, along with policy support to help Vietnamese content platforms in film, entertainment and tourism compete against international platforms.

DatVietVAC's Chairman closed on the belief that cultural industries aren't just about producing entertainment or preserving national identity. They can become a spearhead economic sector, if built on original creation, intellectual property, technology and a private-enterprise ecosystem.

Source: Tien Phong