K-content now travels abroad on two separate circuits: business markets where rights are traded, and consumer festivals where fandom is built. This report highlights the ATF-linked program in Singapore and K-Collection in Los Angeles, alongside Korean pavilions at Astana Comic Con and Gamescom, to show how the two tracks work together.
Two Public Programs Target Global Buyers
Two publicly funded programs are placing Korean content and goods in front of overseas buyers in Los Angeles this month and in Singapore in December
Key Issues
ATF adds its first AI pavilion: The Korea Media and Communications Commission and the Korea Communications Agency are recruiting broadcasters and producers for the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) in Singapore on 1–4 December, where an AI pavilion, The AI Area, will open for the first time.
Last year’s results make the case: The government has run the ATF-linked program since 2024. Eleven Korean titles backed last year generated 152 business consultations: 28 on co-production, 22 on broadcast-rights purchases, 69 on distribution and 33 on other forms of collaboration.
K-Collection alongside KCON LA: The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and KOFCA ran K-Collection with KCON LA 2026 from 14 to 16 August at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with 40 Korean SMEs exhibiting, more than half of them for the first time, and KOTRA export consultations on 14 and 15 August.
Consumer Festivals Open a Second Route to Market
Webtoons, K-pop and games are reaching overseas consumers through a second channel: festivals from Kazakhstan to Cologne.
Key Issues
A Korea pavilion at Astana Comic Con: The Korean Cultural Center in Kazakhstan ran a four-zone pavilion at the 6–9 August festival — webtoons, folk games, hanbok dress-up and a culture quiz — with the four zones structured as a visitor quest. The festival drew about 75,000 people last year.
The webtoon behind a hit drama takes the spotlight: One corner introduced the webtoon behind the drama 'Lovely Runner'. The center and the festival organizers made 8 August 'Korea Day', with a K-pop masterclass by a choreographer formerly with 1MILLION Dance Studio, and a girl-group showcase
gamescom, on the floor and on stage: Gamescom runs in Cologne on 26–30 August with about 1,500 companies, after drawing 360,000 visitors last year. Samsung will show Pearl Abyss' 'Crimson Desert' on its 6K monitor, and three Pearl Abyss developers will speak at the gamescom dev conference on 24 August.
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