Highlights
- K-pop group Rescene debuted member-modeled characters at the Character Licensing Fair 2026.
- The fair highlighted how characters grow into independent content IPs, which further open better revenue streams.
- KOCCA President cites a study stating that for every $100M content exports, around $200M related-industry growth is generated.
The opening day of the Character Licensing Fair 2026 transformed the COEX exhibition center into a packed idol concert, indicating a significant shift in how South Korea scales up its cultural exports. Boosted by the global momentum of the Netflix animation KPop Demon Hunters and a headline appearance by K-pop group Rescene (who are also the event's promotional ambassadors), the 25th annual event established character IP as a dominant macroeconomic engine.
186 Companies and K-pop Group Rescene Take Center Stage
The four-day fair, co-organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), emphasizes a wider strategic pivot toward cross-industry monetization under the theme "Expand: Content IP." Featuring 186 domestic and international companies across 443 booths, the exhibition showcases how character brands are moving forward into mainstream financial, digital, and consumer sectors, aside from traditional toy licensing.
Highlights
Leading domestic character companies like Iconix and K-Vision reported surging interest from global buyers and multigenerational audiences. Notably, Iconix showcased flagship IPs Pororo, Tayo, and Zanmang Loopy, while K-Vision featured Esther Bunny, Kim Hamjji, Shuya, Momorei, and Common Siblings.
Hallyu IP Showcases Economic Value
The exhibition also had the Hallyu IP Pavilion, a dedicated hub created to support product planning, development, and marketing of Hallyu content IP. Organized under the theme K-IP Lifestyle House (K-IP HOUSE) this year, the pavilion depicted everyday Hallyu-IP-inspired consumer products, including a traditional liquor tied to the hit television drama Reborn Rich.
According to KOCCA President Kim Yoon-ji, this systemic expansion of characters creates quantifiable macroeconomic dividends across sectors like games, TV, beauty, and music. Kim also noted that a $100 million USD surge in Hallyu industry exports triggers around $200M lift in related-industry exports along with a $570M domestic production inducement effect, thereby making character licensing a key driver of the next phase of Hallyu's global growth.
