Came to See K-Pop, Captivated by K-Beauty [Export Catalyst K-Content②]

CJ ENM's 'KCON' Expands Its Presence, Core Value Is 'Fan-First Experience'
Diverse Offerings Including Fan Meetings and K-Culture Experiences... Samsung Galaxy Booth Draws Crowds
From Skincare to Makeup and Perfume... K-Beauty Gains Attention for Practicality and Convenience

The originator of convention businesses featuring K-content is CJ ENM's 'KCON.' In 2012, it presented a festival model encompassing Korean culture centered around K-pop performances in Irvine, USA. Even then, K-pop was rapidly spreading online. However, direct communication between artists and fans on-site was rare.

Last July, the 'KCON' Samsung Galaxy booth set up at the Los Angeles (LA) Convention Center in the United States was bustling with events featuring K-pop artists.
[Photo by CJ ENM]

Park Chan-wook, head of CJ ENM's music convention business division, recalled, "We planned it as a comprehensive festival form beyond a simple concert, with 'Fan-first experience' as the core value, including fan meetings and K-culture experiences." He added, "We encouraged fans' voluntary participation using social media and digital marketing and created programs reflecting local fans' voices. In the process, we provided opportunities to experience various Hallyu contents such as K-beauty, K-food, and K-drama, which garnered great interest."

Its status and presence have grown year by year. At 'KCON Japan' held last May in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, a record 140,000 attendees gathered. Not only was the Jojomarine Stadium, where the performances took place, packed, but the Makuhari Messe, exhibiting domestic products, was bustling all day. The 'Food Lounge,' designed with a 'night market' concept, was crowded with people wanting to eat tteokbokki, gimbap, and more, and the Samsung Galaxy booth also had long lines due to events featuring K-pop artists. The booth that received the most attention was K-beauty. Yang Jeong-i, head of CJ ENM's music content communication team, said, "Various items from basic cosmetics to makeup products and perfumes received positive responses," adding, "Perhaps due to word of mouth, the beauty sector has the most companies applying for exhibitions."

In July of last year, the 'KCON' Samsung Galaxy booth set up at the Los Angeles (LA) Convention Center in the United States was bustling with events featuring K-pop artists.
[Photo by CJ ENM]

In the early days, K-beauty was strongly perceived as 'cosmetics used by Hallyu stars.' Recently, more people have focused on practicality and convenience. Interest in Korea's unique beauty routines and technological prowess is growing. Hong Min-hee, branding solutions team leader at Olive Young, who has participated in KCON for a long time, said, "Many visitors want to learn new trends and skincare know-how beyond simply testing products," adding, "From their proactive attitude, I feel that the brand value of K-beauty has significantly increased." She continued, "In response to the growing interest, we have steadily expanded the booth size, creating the largest scale ever last year."

Last May, visitors lined up in front of the 'KCON' K-Beauty Street set up at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, to see Olive Young products.
[Photo by CJ ENM]

The popularity of 'K-Collection,' organized through cooperation between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Foundation for Cooperation between Large, Small, and Medium Enterprises and Agriculture and Fisheries, is comparable to that of K-beauty. It is a promotional event gathering products from small and medium-sized enterprises that find it difficult to enter overseas markets independently. Last year, it promoted products from 110 beauty, food, and content companies at KCON Japan, Los Angeles (LA), and Germany. In a satisfaction survey conducted by the foundation, 96% expressed willingness to participate again. This was because visitors showed higher interest in Hallyu and preference for Korean products than general exhibition attendees. They agreed that combining various experiential marketing elements such as Hallyu star fan meetings, performances, and experience booths enhanced immersion and helped raise brand awareness.

Oh Wan-jin, head of the foundation's win-win cooperation division, said, "K-Collection is not just a promotional event for SMEs but a differentiated event that simultaneously provides consumer experiences and real export opportunities for companies," adding, "Both visitors and results are steadily increasing." CJ ENM conducts special exhibitions with local online distribution platforms each time to enhance effectiveness. For a month before and after KCON, participating companies' products are bundled and sold on platforms such as Amazon in the USA and Qoo10 in Japan. Yang said, "This is a government-supported joint entry project, and we aim to assist as much as possible with export consultations and contracts."

The 'KCON' Olive Young Boutique Box set up at the Los Angeles (LA) Convention Center in the United States last July.
[Photo by CJ ENM]

As KCON evolves into a core hub for global market exchange, visits by local buyers are increasing annually. However, there are still few opportunities to create new business. This is because the event was originally focused more on business-to-consumer (B2C) than business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Hong said, "Companies participating directly grasp local trends and explore market potential," adding, "There is a need to expand it into a B2B exchange platform." Oh also emphasized, "Since 2023, we have been inviting buyers directly to induce contracts," and stressed, "For K-Collection to establish itself as a global promotional platform, it must evolve beyond consumer experience events into a B2B specialized exhibition sought by overseas buyers."