Hankook Tire to showcase 'Drive' brand at EDM festival, targeting Gen Z and millennials

Hankook Tire & Technology will introduce its motor culture brand "Drive" at one of South Korea's premier EDM festivals, as the company moves to expand brand experiences that blend music, visuals and scent beyond traditional product-focused marketing.

The company announced Wednesday it will join the 2026 World DJ Festival as an official media sponsor. The event runs Saturday and Sunday at Seoul Land in Gwacheon.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the World DJ Festival is among the most widely recognized EDM events in the country, drawing around 100,000 visitors last year and maintaining a strong following among audiences in their 20s and 30s. This marks Hankook Tire's first time sponsoring the festival.

During the event, the company will screen a Drive brand video on large LED displays at the main World Stage and Dream Stage. The footage connects Hankook Tire's futuristic concept car with the Drive brand, combining the speed and energy of driving with the atmosphere of a music festival to convey the brand's image.

A key piece of content will be a "DRIVE AI" video reflecting subculture sensibilities, depicting vehicles as more than a means of transport and expanding into an experience where driving merges with music and visual content. The approach aligns with a broader trend of automotive brands deepening ties with cultural content to reach younger consumers.

Online and on-site events will also run alongside the festival. Through Friday, Hankook Tire is hosting a pre-event comment promotion on the Drive official Instagram account. On the festival days — Saturday and Sunday — attendees can follow the Drive Instagram account via QR codes displayed on screens or fencing at the venue, then post a verification photo on their personal social media to enter. Participants will receive discount coupons for the online tire retailer T-Station.com and a Drive car diffuser, among other prizes.

Drive is a rebranded version of "Made in Hankook," a motor culture brand Hankook Tire launched in 2021. Built around the philosophy of "the desire to move," it runs projects connecting car culture with artwork, music, scent and other sensory elements.

Hankook Tire has been building a string of music festival partnerships this year. The series began with Air House on Nami Island in May, continues with the World DJ Festival this month, and will extend next month to the S2O Korea Songkran Music Festival 2026. The company plans to tailor Drive's presence to the distinct genre and character of each festival as it broadens its reach among younger audiences.