K-content expo draws 36,000 to Paris in four days

The "2026 K-Expo France" wrapped up in Paris to strong turnout, drawing 36,000 visitors over four days amid wide local enthusiasm for K-pop, K-beauty and K-food. The event also generated $52 million (about 80 billion won) in export consultation outcomes, underscoring the competitiveness of Korean content in the European market.

Organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and hosted by the Korea Creative Content Agency, the expo ran from June 16 to 19 at the Palais des Congrès de Paris and Le Méridien Etoile hotel.

The exhibition hall at the Palais des Congrès featured 74 South Korean companies spanning content, technology, beauty and food, showcasing the breadth of Korean cultural exports. Hands-on exhibition spaces — including a K-Tech Connect zone, a K-Beauty Boutique and a K-Food Market — drew steady crowds throughout the event.

Interest in K-pop ran especially high. The K-Pop Concert: Inkigayo in Paris, held June 17, drew an audience of about 3,500. Taemin of SHINee headlined alongside Monsta X, NCT Wish, 82Major, Stella Jang and Hearts2Hearts in a series of energetic performances.

A highlight came when Stella Jang performed "Les Champs-Élysées," the iconic French chanson, prompting Korean and French audience members alike to sing along and lifting the energy in the venue.

"K-Food: Taste and Talk," featuring actor Ryu Su-young, and a K-beauty experience program also drew strong interest from local visitors, confirming European appetite for Korean food culture and the beauty industry.

The expo also delivered on the business front. Export consultations involving more than 100 major European buyers covered a wide range of sectors — broadcasting, webtoons, over-the-top streaming, beauty and retail — confirming the potential for K-content to expand further into the European market.

The two-day consultation sessions, which began June 18, drew major players including French publishing and media group Participation, European media giant Banijay, French retail and e-commerce company Fnac Darty, and Animation Digital Network, a European animation streaming platform. The sessions produced 26 MOUs and $52 million in consultation outcomes.

Kim Yun-ji, president of the Korea Creative Content Agency, said the Paris event "confirmed the strong European interest in K-culture as a whole — from content to beauty and food." She added that the agency would "continue to expand overseas co-entry of content and related industries to actively support the global competitiveness of Korean companies."

Meanwhile, K-Expo is set to head to Mexico City in September, following its stops in North America and Europe.