The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST), the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Minister SONG Miryung, MAFRA), the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister KANG Do-Hyung, MOF), the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Minister AHN Dukgeun, MOTIE) in collaboration with the Korea Creative Content Agency (Acting Director YOO Hyun Seok, KOCCA), the Korea International Trade Association (Chairman YOON Jin Sik, KITA), the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (CEO HONG Moon-Pyo, aT), the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (President & CEO YU Jeoung Yeol, KOTRA), and the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (Director KIM Jun Hee, KPIPA) will hold the K-EXPO FRANCE 2024 at Palais Brongniart, a cultural heritage building of France, from October 26 to October 30.

The K-EXPO, a comprehensive event encompassing different aspects of Korean culture, will promote the export of Korean content and promising products and services of those industries connected to the content, including agrifood, seafood, consumables, and others, with the assistance of relevant ministries and organizations. Marking its 3^rd year, the event is to be expanded and held in Europe for the first time, following Vietnam and Thailand. Its scope will be extended to include both a business to consumer (B2C) trade show on October 26 and October 27 featuring performances and exhibits of K-content and the related products for visitors to see and experience; and a business to business (B2B) trade show on October 29 and October 30 to support domestic companies holding export consultations with potential overseas buyers. Some 90 domestic companies[1] involved with the content and the related merchandise industry and 70 international content buyers are expected to join the expo.

Experiencing K-Everything in One Place, from exhibits to Korean stars’ fan meetings

The B2C trade show involves spending a day in Seoul. Visitors can experience everything in Korea from morning to night. It will feature a total of 13 exhibits where visitors can enjoy and experience Korean beauty and lifestyle products, fashion, animation characters, K-pop, books, drama and webtoons, games, and food. The focus will be on promoting merchandise related to content, which scales up the intellectual property (IP) of the content industry. There will be an exhibit dedicated to a world popular game Solo Leveling: ARISE, which Netmarble successfully turned the web novel IP released by D&C Media into, and an art exhibit showcasing the paintings of Minhyuk of MONSTA X, a well-known K-pop group. The K-Stage will feature a cooking show using Korean produce and seafood, a demonstration of Korean beauty products, and the like.

For the exhibits and visitors’ experience, the MAFRA and the MOF, with the aT, will organize the “K-Food” section featuring primarily ramyeon, ready-to-cook sauces, gim (dried seaweed), canned tuna, fish sausage, and other food which are popular in France; and the MOTIE, with the KOTRA, plans to fill the K-Beauty & Lifestyle section with consumables and beauty products, which are all the rage in Korea.

On October 26, there will be ON THE K:D, an online concert featuring original soundtracks (OST) from Korean dramas; and Y3K Coree, a fashion show of the stage costumes of Aespa and NCT, famous K-pop groups, reinterpreted by the Korean designer brands such as nibgnus and SUN WOO, which are now making a splash on the global scene. On the same day, PARK Sunghoon, a Korean male actor who performed in a series of global OTT hits, such as Squid Game Season 2, The Glory and Queen of Tears, will have a fan meeting. On October 27, Minhyuk of MONSTA X will also have his first fan meeting after he was discharged from military service, and there will be a joint performance by a dance crew HOOK, the runner-up of the Korean dance competition titled Street Woman Fighter, and the winner of final K-pop cover dance competition.

On the second floor of the event venue will be the K-Lounge, where Hallyu fans will meet and interact with each other. There will be events including games at different times of the day, such as a random play dance, one of the most frequently featured games on Korean TV entertainment programs, and a game of guessing OST from Korean dramas and so on. Visitors can also take instant snapshots at a Korean self-photo booth. Celebrating the Month of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, the limited releases of the miniatures of a white porcelain moon jar and a pensive bodhisattva, produced in collaboration between BTS and MU:DS, the merchandise brand of the National Museum of Korea, will be available for sale, captivating the Hallyu fans in Europe.

Holding export consultations of Korean products targeting the European market and demonstration of collaborative products of the content and the related industries

In the B2B export consultation event (from October 29 to October 30), 25 Korean content companies, such as Carriesoft, TAKEONE COMPANY, KENAZ, and Happly, and another 25 companies from the industries connected to content, such as food companies, including Humanwell and Changeok; cosmetic companies, including Korea B&C; an eco-friendly toiletries producer Sustainable Lab; and others will participate with the support of the KITA. Buyers from France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, and other European countries will join the consultation event for one-to-one business consultations with the Korean companies, social events, and so on.

In particular, on October 29, “K-Content and the Related Industries Business Networking Day” will be held prior to the B2B event, where eight collaborative products between a content company and a producer of the merchandise related to the content, including “Pinkfong Bangjja Yugi (Korean bronzeware) by the Pinkfong Company and Notban Bangjja Yugi, “Hip Aficionado’s Hardtack” by Studio W.BABA and Myungdo Trading, and “I’M NOT A BABY Kids Shampoo” by Atoonz and GENIE THE BOTTLE, will be displayed and demonstrated. In an effort to support Korean companies’ product presentations and business meetings, local IP licensing buyers and distributors will be invited to ultimately promote collaboration between the content and the related industries.

Promoting “K-Books” by displaying some 100 Korean books and holding lectures and talks by Korean writers

There will be a “K-Book Exhibit” promoting Korean publishing content. It will feature about 100 books, including picture books, literary works, and web novels. They include 59 picture books, notably the winners of the 2023 Korea Picture Book Award and wordless picture books, and 36 literary works translated into French. Four Korean writers, including KANG Hyesook and KIM Yeonsu, will be invited to hold lectures and talks. Furthermore, in celebration of writer HAN Kang’s winning of the Nobel literature prize, not only as the first Korean woman but also as the first Asian woman, there will be a section dedicated to her five books, including The White Book and I Do Not Bid Farewell, which were translated into French.

KIM Jae-Hyun, Director-General of the International Cultural Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), said “This being the first K-Expo to be held in Europe, we prepared for an all-inclusive Hallyu event with exhibitions and performances, export consultations, and both business-to-consumer and business-to-business events so that visitors can see and experience K-everything from the content to its related merchandise.” He added “The MCST will continue to help Korean content and its related industries go global together. This year’s K-Expo will also be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from November 14 to November 17.”