Canadian Creative Industries Trade Mission to East Asia, June 2025
Under the Creative Export Strategy, the Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH), in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC) Trade Commissioner Service, successfully led a creative industries trade mission to South Korea and Japan from June 1 to 12, 2025. This mission followed a successful partnership with GAC on the Team Canada Trade Mission to South Korea in April 2024 as well as the Team Canada Trade Mission to Japan in October/November 2023.
The mission brought together 56 participants from 43 Canadian companies and organizations specialized in the audiovisual, digital media, book publishing, performing arts and music sectors. Participants took part in:
- business meetings
- market intelligence briefings
- networking events
- strategic site visits in Seoul, Busan, Osaka, and Tokyo
Over 410 curated business-to-business meetings were held in South Korea and Japan, helping Canadian creators connect directly with potential partners. The trade mission helped Canadian creative SMEs expand into South Korea and Japan by facilitating market entry, boosting visibility, and creating new international business opportunities, while also strengthening government-to-government relationships and promoting Canada as a partner of choice in the creative industries.
On this page
Photo gallery
Summary of post-mission survey results
Following the mission, Canadian Heritage emailed a survey to all participating companies and organizations and received 40 responses.
According to the survey:
- 26% of respondents signed commercial agreements
- half of respondents began negotiations for commercial agreements
- over 70% developed business relationships that will benefit their business/organization
Overall, 89% of respondents said they were satisfied that the mission helped them pursue their business objectives.
Why South Korea
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea designated 2024-2025 as the Year of Cultural Exchanges between South Korea and Canada to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations. The East Asia trade mission leveraged the momentum created by this leader-level commitment.
- South Korea is a high-potential export market for Canada's creative industries:
- in 2021, South Korea was Canada's 10th largest creative export market with $96.7 million in cultural trade
- the audiovisual and interactive digital media subsectors generated the highest export revenues for Canada in South Korea, totaling $33.3 million in exports in 2021, representing over a third of Canada's total cultural exports to this market
- the performing arts generated $7.2 million, and design generated $3.4 million in revenues in that same year
- South Korea is a like-minded partner in the Indo-Pacific region, and the first country in that region with whom Canada established a free trade agreement in 2015.
- This mission built on a series of trade missions and events to South Korea, including a virtual creative industries trade mission led by Canadian Heritage in March 2023, and the April 2024 Team Canada Trade Mission. Both of these missions confirmed the interest of the Canadian creative industries in the South Korean market and helped generate substantial business opportunities for Canadian companies and organizations.
Why Japan
- In 2021, Japan was Canada’s 14th largest cultural export market, with a notable increase in creative exports over the years ($58.1 million in cultural trade).
- The trade mission continued to build business and people-to-people ties following the Team Canada Trade Mission to Japan, led by Global Affairs Canada in October/November 2023, which included a creative industries stream.
- Japan holds a critical role in Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, being the exclusive G7 partner in the region.
- Canada and Japan are the 2 largest economies in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Since the agreement's implementation in December 2018, the economic partnership has deepened, presenting lucrative opportunities for collaborative ventures.
- The trade mission included business programming on the margins of Expo 2025 Osaka to enhance the Canadian presence at this world-renowned international event.
Contact us
Should you have any questions, please contact the Canadian Heritage International Trade Operations team by email at: missioncommerciale-trademission@pch.gc.ca.