Kpop's biggest labels consider creating Coachella-style global festival

HYBE 352820.KS, SM Entertainment 041510.KQ, YG Entertainment 122870.KQ and JYP Entertainment 035900.KQ said in a statement they are preparing to set up a joint venture to develop the "Fanomenon" event, a large-scale festival aimed at showcasing Korean popular culture to a global audience.

The talks also involve the government's Popular Culture Exchange Committee, as the companies look for new ways to expand Kpop's global footprint through industry-wide cooperation rather than individual company projects.

Fanomenon - a term combining "fan" and "phenomenon" - was unveiled last year by JYP founder Park Jin-young, who co-chairs the committee.

At its launch in October, Park said the ambition was to create a recurring mega festival starting in South Korea and eventually touring cities worldwide, with the aim of rivaling leading international music festivals such as Coachella.

Under Park's vision, the festival could begin as early as 2027 in South Korea, followed by overseas editions from 2028, featuring a broad lineup spanning Kpop and other elements of Korean popular culture.

The discussions come amid a broader push by President Lee Jae Myung to promote the Kpop industry, after assigning Park to spearhead those efforts and pledging strong government backing while staying out of artistic decisions.

The companies stressed, however, that discussions remained at an early stage and no concrete business plans, schedules or operating structures had been finalised. They said the joint venture was being considered as a possible model for cooperation and that required procedures, including filing with the Fair Trade Commission, were under way.

Decisions will be made cautiously as talks continue, the companies said, taking into account market conditions and views across the industry.

(Reporting by Kyu-seok ShimEditing by Ed Davies)