President Kim Dae-jung instructed the Culture and Tourism Ministry Wednesday to fully develop the country's cultural assets and aim at a Nobel Prize for literature.

Noting that South Korea was losing its tourism surplus, Kim asked the ministry to make full use of the southern coast tourist belt industry and develop northern Kyongsang Province into a popular tourist site.

The ministry reported that it will establish a special firm on the cultural content by end of June to meet the growing digital culture industry.

President Kim emphasized that the "national fortune" depends on a cultural contents industry that can spread out internationally and win global acclaim.