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rom K-Pop and K-drama to movies and fashion, hallyu — the global wave of South Korean popular culture — has provided a significant push for the formerly poor, war-torn nation to become the world’s 11th largest economy.

Apart from playing a role as a “soft power” — a term referring to a country’s ability to persuade others without force or coercion — South Korean’s creative industry has also become an influential platform for local brands such as electronics giant Samsung and automaker Hyundai to promote their products to international audiences.

South Korea’s huge success in synergizing its creative industry with other sectors has also inspired Indonesia to learn the country’s recipe for doing so.

At a special event that gathered hundreds of local and South Korean businesses on Tuesday, the government openly invited South Korea to lend its expertise in developing creative talents and ocus its investments on helping Indonesia’s creative economy flourish.

“South Korean firms have contributed significantly to our industrial sector, namely to steel and petrochemicals. Now I am inviting you to take the next step, which is to highlight our creative economy and tourism,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said in his opening remarks at the 2017 Indonesia-Korea Business Summit, held by the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and major South Korean media group Chosun Ilbo.

South Korean firms have played a major role in driving Indonesia’s economic growth, injecting investments worth US$7.5 billion between 2012 and 2016, making the country the third-largest foreign investor in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

Major past projects include a $6 billion investment in steel plants by steel giant Posco and a $353 million tire plant by producer Hankook Tire, adding to other investments in labor-intensive industries such as garments, textiles and footwear, which have absorbed 900,000 local workers.

Indonesia has been seeking more South Korean investment in three sectors, namely basic industries like iron, steel and petrochemicals, the creative industry and tourism. The country is seen to have an advantage in those sectors because of its large and young population and workforce.

Among the 450-strong member South Korean delegation was Lee Soo-man, the president of South Korea’s entertainment juggernaut SM Entertainment, which is famous for launching actors, producers, models and K-Pop boy bands, including Super Junior, EXO and SHINee.

Super Junior member Leeteuk was also part of the delegation, to the delight of many in the crowd.

Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) head Triawan Munaf said his agency would learn from South Korean creative figures such as SM Entertainment about how Indonesia could improve the impact of its talent agencies and the development of musical, film, animation and gaming talents.

“With this investment in the film and cinema industry, we hope there will be collaborations between the two countries’ film industries to eventually produce films in Indonesia,” he said.

In his speech, SM’s Lee said that in order to increase both countries’ cultural relations, his company would bring its global boy band project Neo Culture Technology (NCT) to Indonesia, by inviting local singers to audition for a place on the NCT Indonesia or NCT Asia subunits.

Through the project, SM is hoping to introduce a new cultural technology concept to Indonesia, with Lee emphasizing his belief that “culture can be created through technology.”

Bekraf expects to see the creative economy employ 17 million people and exports, goods and services valued at $21.5 billion by 2019.

Amid a weak global economy, Indonesia struggled to maintain its economic growth at 5.02 percent last year after hitting 4.79 percent in 2015, the lowest rate in six years. This year, it expects to achieve 5.1 percent economic growth, a target that can be comfortably achieved with support from a significant inflow of foreign investment.

BKPM chief Thomas Lembong expected that $200 million of new investment deals would be made by South Korean investors at and around the business summit.

Another sector that both parties will focus on is tourism. Around 400,000 South Korean tourists visit Indonesia each year, less than half the number of those who visit Thailand or the Philippines.

“The main problem inhibiting South Korean tourists in visiting Indonesia is the lack of cheap airfares and budget airlines. We will discuss with relevant investors about how to improve air connectivity between us,” Thomas said.

University of Indonesia economist Fithra Faisal Hastiadi, meanwhile, said Indonesia had a lot to offer South Korean investors in tourism. One of the attractive points, he said, was that the level of economic growth in major tourist regions, such as Bali and West Nusa Tenggara, always stood at the national average.