"2026 MyK FESTA," an event offering a one-stop experience of K-culture spanning K-pop, content, beauty, food, fashion and lifestyle, drew about 56,000 domestic and international visitors, including roughly 18,000 foreign tourists visiting Korea, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's final tally. The event ran from June 25 to 28 at KINTEX and Sono Calm Goyang in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The turnout surpassed the "2025 MyK FESTA," held for the first time last year, which drew a total of about 46,000 visitors.
On Wednesday, the ministry said the event featured companies and institutions covering all areas of K-culture, running pop-up stores offering exhibitions, hands-on experiences and sales, as well as talk programs joined by creators across various K-culture fields. "Through an export consultation session involving domestic and overseas companies, the event expanded overseas sales channels for the K-culture industry and raised the potential for practical business cooperation, establishing itself as a leading K-culture industry-linked event," the ministry said.
The exhibition and experience space "MyK Street," set up in Hall 3 of KINTEX Exhibition Center 1, was operated as a venue to extend interest in K-content into Korean lifestyle overall. A total of 156 companies participated, including leading brands such as Nongshim, Dong-A Pharmaceutical, Musinsa, Isaac Toast and Jeju Samdasoo, drawing visitors' attention with various booths, experience programs and new product promotions.
Unlike last year's event, which was held solely by the Culture Ministry, this year saw booths from related agencies including the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency, along with participation from local governments such as Boryeong City and Jangheung County.
At "MyK Voice," held in Hall 3, creators and cultural figures from various fields communicated with the audience, including film and drama director Lee Byung-hun, webtoon artist Joo Dong-geun, character artist Memil, musical actor Kim Ho-young, fashion expert Elysepunk, makeup artist Lee Sa-bae, and singers FIFTY FIFTY.
The K-pop concert "MyK Live," held on June 26 and 27 in Halls 1 and 2 of KINTEX Exhibition Center 1, was joined by about 26,000 domestic and international K-pop fans. On-site footage of the performances, featuring leading K-pop acts such as Highlight, Treasure, RIIZE and Hearts2Hearts, will be released through the tvN channel in August.
At "MyK Trade," held on June 25 and 26 at Sono Calm Goyang, business programs were run to systematically support Korean K-culture companies' entry into overseas markets. A total of 201 domestic companies and 151 buyer companies from 27 countries participated, introducing products and services in various fields such as K-content, beauty, food, fashion and lifestyle, and holding one-on-one export consultations.
In particular, this year featured joint entry consultation sessions with Alibaba.com and Qoo10 Japan, broadening opportunities for entry into overseas online distribution networks and winning a favorable response from participating companies. During the event, about 1,900 consultations took place, including one-on-one export consultations and entry consultations for global online platforms, and 17 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and contracts were signed on site. The on-site transaction value tallied so far amounts to 39.35 billion won, while the potential consultation transaction value, for which follow-up talks are planned after consultations, was estimated at about 389.17 billion won.
Among these, an agreement between Kalavinka, a participating company in the domestic media content field, and Agogo Animation, a buyer company in Hong Kong, is seen as an example showing that global interest in K-content is expanding into practical demand for the products and services of Korean K-culture companies.
The ministry said, "Going forward, we plan to support K-culture companies' overseas expansion through 'MyK FESTA' and develop it into a comprehensive event where foreign visitors to Korea can experience all aspects of K-culture."
