South Korea's exports of entertainment, sports and animation programs rose sharply in 2015 amid the total shipments of TV programs shrinking due to the historical row with Japan, South Korea's biggest content market, data showed Tuesday.

Exports of entertainment programs climbed to US$31.9 million in 2015 from $19.8 million in 2014 and $14.4 million in 2013, according to the data by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

Sports programs shipments skyrocketed to $5.2 million in 2015 from a mere $13,000 in 2014 and $28,000 in 2013.

Animation exports also soared to $1.89 million in 2015 from $80,000 in 2014 and $128,000 in 2013.

Education program exports reached $173,000 in 2015 from $26,000 in 2014 and $19,000 in 2013.

The total amount of television programs exports, however, fell in 2015 from the previous year due to the falling shipments to Japan over a historical row involving the sexual enslavement of Korean women for front-line Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Shipments of TV programs dropped 15.7 percent to $216 million in 2015 from $256 million in 2014. The comparable figures were $179 million in 2012 and $239 million in 2013.

Exports of dramas went down 9.1 percent to $172 million in 2015 from $189 million in 2014 and 211 million in 2013.

Researcher Lee Hyun-woo of the Korea Creative Content Agency called on the government to come up with a long-term strategy to foster the country's animation, sports and education programs, saying "They all have ample growth potential, although they are still small in content exported." (Yonhap)