A large-scale K-culture festival called "FANOMENON" will be held next year in Seoul and Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The plan is to grow it into the world's largest music festival by combining K-pop concerts, fandom awards, music festivals, and exhibition and experience programs. The government projected that the 11-day event will draw approximately 520,000 visitors and generate more than 1 trillion won in economic impact.
Choi Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and co-chairman of the presidential Popular Culture Exchange Committee, and Park Jin-young, chief producer of JYP Entertainment, held a press conference at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul on the 27th and announced the "2027 FANOMENON Plan," which centers on these details. The event will be held from December 2 to 12, 2027, at Seoul Arena in Changdong, Seoul, and at the KINTEX Second Exhibition Hall in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
"FANOMENON is a privately led large-scale event that combines K-pop-centered concerts, fandom awards, and exhibition and experience programs by K-culture companies," committee co-chairman Park said. "FANOMENON" is a coined word combining "Fan" and "Phenomenon." Meaning a phenomenon created by fans, the term is intended to define fans not merely as consumers but as partners who actively participate in the spread of K-culture.
At Seoul Arena, large-scale concerts featuring domestic and international singers and a fandom awards ceremony will be held. Rather than honoring artists, the awards ceremony selects and awards the fandom that showed the most intense passion and influence over the year, with the relevant artist or brand accepting the award on their behalf. At KINTEX, a music festival for 20,000 people will be held from Friday through the weekend, while on weekdays, artist and actor fan meetings, production presentations, video content screenings, film and drama OST performances, and business forums will take place. Exhibition and experience events by K-culture companies covering food, beauty, and fashion, as well as games, webtoons, film, and animation, will also be operated.
The government expects a total of 520,000 visitors, 200,000 foreign tourists, and about 1 trillion won in economic impact during the event. The private sector will handle planning, operation, direction, and promotion, while the government will support immigration and safety management, promotion of inbound tourism, and participation by small and medium-sized enterprises. Given the nature of the entertainment industry, the focus is on having private companies take the lead to secure solid profitability and sustainability, thereby ensuring a virtuous cycle.
Park devoted a considerable part of the event to explaining the importance of "fandom." Unlike other global music festivals, FANOMENON aims to have K-pop singers from around the world rank and award fandoms. As a fandom awards ceremony is unprecedented internationally, it is understood that it would be the first of its kind if carried out. "K-pop fandom is different from other music fields. While consumers in other music fields simply consume music, the key is that K-pop fandom sees itself as a subject of the K-pop industry and grows as a partner. We intend to lead the festival by focusing on this fandom," Park said.
Some have pointed out that the event, being run around the four major agencies, could sideline small and medium-sized agencies. In response, Park said, "The four major agencies must play the role of gathering people and attention, but the purpose is to make that power help growing agencies and other K-culture fields," adding, "There will be no case of small-scale agencies being sidelined."
Of the three projects the Popular Culture Exchange Committee set as goals when it was launched, the remaining two—holding an overseas K-pop festival in May 2028 and establishing overseas "K-culture centers"—are said to be at the discussion stage. A committee official said, "We will announce the other two agenda items once they take shape to some extent."
