Korea Seoul Anime & Gaming Industry Chain Pop Culture and Creative Products Exhibition

The Seoul POPCON, Korea’s annual flagship global comprehensive pop culture expo, is a premier event in the region. Spanning 23,000㎡, it anticipates over 380 exhibiting companies, with overseas exhibitors accounting for 37% of the total, representing cultural and creative enterprises from 22 countries and regions across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America.

The audience comprises two main segments: B2B professional buyers and C2C end‑consumers, with an expected total attendance exceeding 42,000 during the exhibition period. Among them, approximately 9,200 are industry professionals—including distributors, IP operators, international channel partners, and brand licensors—hailing from global film and television studios, game publishers, trendy toy brands, cross‑border e‑commerce platforms, and chain‑store cultural‑creative outlets. The remaining attendees consist of local Korean enthusiasts and fans from neighboring countries, fostering both business negotiations and end‑market research.

South Korea ranks as the world’s fourth-largest mobile gaming market and the birthplace of the global webtoon industry. In 2024, the domestic gaming sector generated approximately KRW 23.85 trillion (RMB 109.7 billion), while annual game exports reached US$8.53 billion, with mobile games commanding a 59% share of the domestic market. Console and PC gaming continue to expand steadily, and the esports market has surpassed US$150 million. In the animation segment, South Korean webtoons posted annual revenues exceeding US$1.5 billion, with NAVER’s webtoon platform boasting 171 million monthly active users worldwide. Many leading webtoon IPs have been adapted into mobile games, animations, and live‑action series, establishing a mature closed-loop ecosystem for IP monetization.

At the policy level, under South Korea’s national cultural strategy, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) provides ongoing subsidies and export tax incentives. Small and medium‑sized animation and gaming firms can receive up to 50% project subsidies for overseas expansion, while robust intellectual property regulations ensure the commercial viability of IP assets. On the consumer side, cultural‑creative product penetration exceeds 75%, with Generation Z as the primary demographic, favoring games, trendy toys, webtoons, and film‑ and TV‑related merchandise. The industry exhibits highly refined division of labor, spanning content creation, art outsourcing, IP licensing, derivative‑product manufacturing, and global distribution, forming a fully industrialized system. Many domestic companies actively seek high‑quality overseas content, contract manufacturing resources, and IP partnerships, ensuring steady demand for imported games, animations, and related cultural products. As such, South Korea serves as a pivotal hub for cross‑border cultural‑creative trade in Asia.

The Seoul POPCON adopts a dual-track B2B/B2C format, featuring five signature ancillary events: a dedicated business‑matching zone, a Creators’ Alley, a Global Cosplay Competition, celebrity meet‑and‑greets, and on‑site esports tournaments, enabling simultaneous professional networking and brand exposure.

Korea Seoul Anime & Gaming Industry Chain Pop Culture and Creative Products Exhibition tickets are e-tickets. Domestic and international visitors must complete online pre-registration with real-name passport verification. After purchase, the organizer verifies visitor identity. Visitors who do not meet entry requirements may need to submit additional documents. Once approved, you will receive email confirmation or a QR code. On site, present your original passport and confirmation letter to collect a paper badge, or scan the QR code to enter.