5th Daegu Content Fair wraps up with 160 companies, 433 booths

The city of Daegu announced Monday that the 5th Daegu Content Fair, held over two days Friday and Saturday at EXCO East Hall, concluded successfully.

This year's fair drew about 24,000 visitors over the two days, with 160 companies filling 433 booths across the venue.

The event featured a wide range of programs, including content exhibitions and hands-on experiences, lectures and seminars, investment pitching sessions and side events.

The exhibition floor was organized into themed zones — an indie game section, a game arena, and a character and illustration village — giving visitors the chance to experience a broad variety of content firsthand.

Kakao Games drew particular attention by operating a demo booth for its new title "Dokkaebi's World" in collaboration with Red Ice Studio.

At the "Indie Game Scale-Up IR Pitching" session, designed to attract investment for local game companies, seven selected firms presented their business strategies and growth plans.

The "Indie Game Export Consultation" session brought together domestic and international buyers and industry representatives for trade consultations and networking, generating 89 consultation cases with a combined value of $13.6 million.

A game jam featuring university game clubs from Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province saw eight teams showcase creative ideas. The grand prize went to the team "Frozen Person" and the excellence award to "Sunset Park."

An education village, where local high schools and universities participated, displayed student-created content and highlighted the talent and potential of young creators in the region.

Side events open to the general public also drew an enthusiastic response. An esports festival built around "Tales Runner" and "Brawl Stars," a talk show featuring popular creators Malwang and Hollit, and a cosplay festival added energy to the proceedings.

Additional programs — including a talk concert with webtoon artists, a book concert and signing session, and a publishing and printing trends seminar — gave creators and visitors a forum to connect and share the latest developments and future directions of the content industry.

Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho said the fair "showed both the present state and the potential of the region's content industry," adding that the city would "continue to actively support local content companies in growing and entering global markets, so that the sector can develop into a high-value-added industry leading Daegu's future."